Taken
by Coreinha
Summary: Elrond and Thranduil disappear, Aragorn, Legolas, and the Twins must find them NOW FINISHED!
1. Default Chapter

Taken  
  
Coreinha Darkwood  
  
disclaimer; I own no recognisable characters or settings. They belong to Tolkien, or his descendants or whatever. This is just for fun, I make no profit from it.  
  
A/N; I just want to thank Cathy for siccing this plot bunny on me. This takes place when Aragorn is about 22.  
  
on with the fic!  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
"LEGOLAS!"  
  
The bellow echoed off the walls of Eryn Lasgalen, as Thranduil stormed down the hallways looking for his son.  
  
Legolas was lounging on his bed, reading a book when his fathers voice reached his ears.  
  
"Legolas?! Where are you?!"  
  
'Oh Valar, what have I done now?' He thought to himself as he set the book aside.  
  
He went to the open door, and called out "I'm in here Atar!"  
  
Thranduil appeared in the doorway, looking furious. Legolas thought if it were possible, steam would be blowing out his ears. The elven king just stared at his son a moment, before beckoning to him.  
  
"Come with me."  
  
Legolas sighed, when his father was like this, there was no arguing with him, so he followed quietly behind.  
  
Thranduil led them out of the settlement, into the woods. Legolas had to struggle to keep pace, in his fury, Thranduil was all but running.  
  
They followed the river that connected with Laketown, for about half a league. When they arrived at a small hill overlooking the river, Legolas could clearly see what the problem was. A bunch of the empty wine barrels they were sending back to Laketown had collided with an overturned canoe in the river. There was broken wood everywhere, and the river was pretty effectively dammed up.  
  
"This is starting to cause flooding upstream from Eryn Lasgalen." Thranduil looked as though he may start jumping up and down in his fury.  
  
"I see." Legolas sighed, "what do you want me to do about it Atar?"  
  
Thranduil gave him a whithering look, and opened his mouth to reply, but a sudden coldness stole over him, as icy fingers of fear wrapped themselves around his heart. He turned to his son, who had frozen in place, looking shockingly like a startled deer. He was staring across the blocked river at an ancient looking figure on the bank.  
  
The figure looked human, but it was bent over, and gnarled like an old tree. It straightened up and Thranduil could clearly see it was male. It pointed to Legolas and started chanting.  
  
What happened next can only be described as parental instinct.  
  
A flash of light erupted from the creatures finger, and shot toward Legolas. The younger elf didn't move, it was as though he were frozen, his blue eyes wide. Thranduil gave his son a mighty shove, that sent him tumbling head over heels down the hill.  
  
It took Legolas a moment to stop his abrupt descent down the hill. When he managed to right himself, the strange figure and his father were gone, as though they'd never been there.  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
Elrond swept through the halls of Rivendell, looking for his wayward sons.  
  
There was flour all over the Hall of Fires, and one of the maids was in his study nearly hysterical.  
  
Elrond had no doubt whatsoever who was responsible.  
  
He spent the better part of an hour searching for the errant threesome, before locating Elladan in the stables. In a somewhat.... compromising position.  
  
Elladan and Amariel, one of the maiden's who worked in the kitchen were exchanging fervent kisses in an empty stall.  
  
So involved were they, that Elladan didn't even note his father's presence. That is, until Elrond latched onto his ear, and yanked him forceably away from Amariel, who gave a little shriek of shock.  
  
"Amariel", Elrond's voice, was calm, pleasant even. "I believe the cook is looking for you."  
  
"Yes my lord." The maiden curtsied gracefully, and scurried off to the kitchens, glad to be away from Elrond's scrutinizing glare.  
  
The elf lord fixed his stare on his first-born, "Elladan, have you seen your brothers?"  
  
It took Elrond a moment to realize he still had a deathgrip on his son's delicately tapered ear. He released it, and waited for Elladan to straighten.  
  
He did, rubbing the offended part, "No Ada, not since this morning."  
  
Elrond shook his head, and made no comment on his son's behavior, there would be time for that later today.  
  
"Fine. You are going to help me find them."  
  
Elladan groaned inwardly, `oh Valar, what have they done now.' He followed his father meekly, still rubbing his sore ear.  
  
Aragorn and Elrohir watched the entire scene from the rafters of the stables, hands pressed over their mouths to cover the snickering. Once the older twin, and the elf lord had exited Elrohir hopped gracefully from the rafters, and Aragorn took the decidedly safer route of a ladder.  
  
They followed their father and older brother out into the fields at a safe distance.  
  
Elrond and Elladan headed out into the woods surrounding Imladris, searching for Estel and Elrohir. Of course, there was no sign of them.  
  
They were about to give up when a terrible sense of impending doom hit Elrond like a fist to the jaw. Elladan felt it mere moments after his father. They both froze, staring intently into the woods, looking for any sign of danger.  
  
When there was none, they turned to head into Rivendell, fully intending to warn the guards of what they sensed, when Elrohir sensed what his father and brother had picked up a few minutes before.  
  
It startled him, and he came tumbling out of the tree he and Aragorn had been watching from. Aragorn stared in silent horror as Elrohir landed with a thump on the ground, and didn't move.  
  
He was about to climb down, when a shriveled old man tottered into view, and pointed his finger at Elladan, who was staring in shock at his brother's prone form, oblivious to all else around him.  
  
Elrond, however, did see the old man. As a brilliant light coalesced toward his son's, Elrond leapt at them, forcing Elladan into a heap on top of his unconscious twin  
  
By the time Elladan had untangled his limbs from him limp brother, Elrond, and the old man had vanished.  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~ 


	2. Chapter 2

Taken  
  
Ch. 2  
  
disclaimer; I don't own any of this, it all belongs to Tolkien, I'm not making any money.  
  
a/n; special thanks to Cathy for the plot bunny, and for being a pain :) We're just going to pick up right where we left off :) I should mention that the incident in Rivendell took place about 3 days after the one in Mirkwood, sorry I didn't make that clear in the first chappie!  
  
on with the fic!  
  
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Mirkwood  
  
Legolas had no idea how long he stood there, staring at the place his father had been.  
  
He felt like a lost elfling, standing there, in the middle of the woods all alone. He wanted to move, but it seemed he couldn't, it was as though his body were frozen in ice.  
  
He probably would have stood there all day if Gandalf hadn't happened along. Well, it probably wasn't an accident, knowing Gandalf.  
  
He meandered up the hill, singing that infernal song about the road going ever on and on. From experience, Legolas knew that song could go ever on and on.  
  
Gandalf didn't stop until he stood beside the elf, who was staring blankly at the spot where his father had been. They stood side by side silently for a moment. The youthful elf didn't move to acknowledge the wizard, didn't move at all in fact. He appeared to be lost in his own thoughts, and had the expression of a lost child on his face. Gandalf didn't rush him, he just stood there, and lit his pipe, waiting for the elf to speak.  
  
It took some time, but Legolas eventually found his voice again.  
  
"Atar...."  
  
"Hmm?" Gandalf turned toward his companion, looking surprised that he'd spoken.  
  
Legolas tried again.  
  
"Atar, he was standing right here."  
  
"Where is he now, mellon nin?"  
  
Gandalf appeared curious, nothing more.  
  
"I don't know. There was a man, a shriveled old man across the river, I saw him and I couldn't move. He pointed his finger at me, and there was a bright light, only, Atar shoved me out of the way. When I stood up, they were both gone, and I couldn't move."  
  
The story spilled out of him like water over a dam, along with a flood of tears that he couldn't control. The elf sank to the ground, buried his face in his arms, and sobbed like a child. Gandalf simply knelt beside him and wrapped his arms around the weeping elf.  
  
This was a powerful sorcerer indeed who could spirit away one elf, and leave the other in a trance that took over an hour to break free of.  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
Rivendell  
  
"ADA!"  
  
Aragorn climbed out of the tree as fast as he could, without breaking a limb.  
  
Elladan didn't move from where he was kneeling beside his twin. He was just staring at the spot his father had been. Elrohir was still unconscious at the base of the tree, his head was bleeding where it had cracked on a root in his fall.  
  
Aragorn waited for the older twin to move to help his brother, but he didn't. He simply sat and stared blankly.  
  
Aragorn pushed around him, and knelt beside Elrohir. He found a pulse, strong and steady, and silently thanked the Valar for small favors. He quickly checked over the rest of his body, and found some bruises, nothing broken. Just a bump on the head.  
  
He turned to Elladan, who still hadn't moved.  
  
"Elladan, we have to get back to Rivendell, we have to get help!"  
  
The older twin didn't respond.  
  
"Elladan?"  
  
He still didn't move.  
  
Somewhere, deep inside, Elladan could hear his brother's voice calling him. It was as though his body were frozen, he wanted to respond, but he couldn't.  
  
"Elladan!"  
  
Still no response.  
  
Estel could think of no other response, so he gripped the older twin firmly by the shoulders, and shook him violently.  
  
"Elladan! Answer me!"  
  
Nothing. Aragorn resisted the urge to stomp his feet in frustration, and thought over the situation.  
  
They were still within the boundaries of Rivendell. If he left his brothers here, it was unlikely they would be attacked by anything. He turned toward his brothers, one lying limply on the ground, the other staring off into space blankly, and made his decision.  
  
"Elladan, I have no idea if you can hear me or not, but I'm going to get help. I won't be long, you two should be safe here."  
  
With one last look over his shoulder, Aragorn took off running toward Rivendell.  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
Mirkwood  
  
It took some doing, but Gandalf eventually manoeuvered the still sobbing elf back to Eryn Lasgalen.  
  
He kept his arm around him, and murmured comforting words in elvish.  
  
Legolas just stumbled along meekly, once the Istar got him moving. The elf seemed to be having trouble coordinating himself, and would have fallen repeatedly if not for Gandalf's support.  
  
"Aaye, Mithrandir, nae saian luume'!" Hail, Gandalf, it has been too long!  
  
Gandalf nodded to the guard, "Mae govannen, Astadel. nae saian, mellon nin, nae saian. well met, Astadel. it has, my friend, it has. I seem to have a problem here, can you help me?"  
  
Astadel leapt nimbly down from his perch in a tree guarding the gates of Eryn Lasgalen, and supported Legolas on his other side.  
  
The elf had stopped weeping, and appeared to be exhausted.  
  
They half walked, half carried the elf to his chambers, where Gandalf tucked him into bed.  
  
Legolas dropped off to sleep immediatly.  
  
Gandalf turned to Torninean, Thranduil's advisor, "Can you keep things running here? I have a feeling this elfling and I should head for Imladris with all haste."  
  
Torninean nodded, "Of course, Mithrandir, but please, can you tell me what happened?"  
  
Gandalf looked frustrated for a moment, "No, mellon nin, I cannot, for I do not know. Perhaps when Legolas awake, he can give us more information. I only know that Thranduil is missing, and a wrinkled old man appears to be responsible, both for Thranduil's dissappearance, and Legolas' current state of mind. However, it appears to be wearing off. We can thank the Valar for that."  
  
Torninean frowned, "Yes, we can indeed, but I would know what has happened to my Lord."  
  
Gandalf placed a comforting hand on the elf's shoulder, "We will ask Legolas when he awakes, until then, how about some supper? I'm famished!"  
  
Torninean suppressed a smile, "Of course, Mithrandir, this way."  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
Rivendell  
  
It only took Aragorn 10 minutes to run back to Rivendell. He arrived huffing and puffing.  
  
"Aragorn!" It was Glorfindel, and he didn't look happy. "Aragorn, your father has been looking for you and your brother for nearly an hour! Are you responsible for...."  
  
He trailed off as he got a good look at the ranger's disheveled appearance.  
  
"What happened?" He demanded, as Aragorn leaned against him a moment, gasping for breath.  
  
"Ada... gone."  
  
Glorfindel looked confused.  
  
"Gone? Gone where?"  
  
Estel shook his head. "Don't know......Elladan....Elrohir..*gasp*...need help...."  
  
If he wasn't so distressed at the moment, Aragorn would have been amused by the way Glorfindel's eyes nearly popped out of his head. 'Valar' he thought 'he looks like a fish!'  
  
Indeed he did, Glorfindel's jaw worked up and down silently a few times, as he absorbed the scant information the human had just imparted to him.  
  
"What do you mean you don't know?"  
  
Aragorn rolled his eyes, "Elladan! *pant gasp* Elrohir!" He pointed vehemently in their general direction.  
  
Glorfindel sighed, "Where are they?"  
  
~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~  
  
half an hour later  
  
Glorfindel and Estel had gotten the twins to their own rooms, though they, of course, had to be carried. Elladan still appeared to be frozen in place, although, you could get his eyes to focus on you, if you called his name.  
  
Elrohir had a slight concussion, which Estel had treated easily enough, and was starting to come around.  
  
Thankfully, he didn't appear to be suffering from whatever ailed his twin.  
  
"oooooh. Estel?" Elrohir turned his aching head towards his younger brother, and current partner in crime. "Are we in trouble with Ada?"  
  
Estel grinned, grateful to see the younger twin conscious again. "Ummm, well.... not yet."  
  
Elrohir looked confused, "what do you mean?"  
  
Estel was spared any further explanation when Gandalf walked into the room.  
  
TBC 


	3. Chapter 3

Taken  
  
ch. 3  
  
disclaimer: I don't own any of this, it belong to Tolkien, blah blah blah, I'm not making any money.  
  
A/N: thanks to Cathy for the plot bunny, and the explanation between being British and English.  
  
On with the fic;  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
Thranduil sighed, and leaned his head back against the solid rock wall behind him. He'd been sitting alone in a small dark cell for 3 days now. Not that he could really tell how long it had been.  
  
His cell appeared to be in some kind of cave, there was not even a glimmer of sunlight on the walls. No scent of fresh air. Where ever he was, it was far underground, and there was no way of telling time. His captor kept him well fed, although, he'd only seen the man once, standing across the river, pointing at his son. There had been a blinding flash of light, then total darkness.  
  
When he awoke, he was here, in this tiny cell. It was not quite tall enough for him to stand up straight in, and perfectly square. So he couldn't stretch out completely, unless he stretched from corner to corner. It was carved directly into a cave wall, and had metal bars perfectly fitted into the stone.  
  
Probably dwarvish craft. Figures. If there was one thing dwarves could do right, it was carve rock.  
  
The Elven King sighed again, and looked out the bars. There was nothing out there, except three more cells similar to his, but without bars. His was the only one still useable. Lucky him.  
  
His cell was in a round room, with 2 tunnels leading in, and the four cell's placed symmetrically around it. As he stared out of the bars, the creature who fed him scuttled in. It appeared humanoid, as though, at some point, it had stood upright, like an elf or a human. It was about that size, but so skinny you could count every bone in it's pitiful body.  
  
It never spoke a word, never even looked at him, only shoved a plate with some bread and cheese on it through the bars, and a glass of water.  
  
He referred to it as 'It' in his mind, because he couldn't tell if It was male or female.  
  
The food wasn't the best he'd ever had, but it could have been worse, and the water was fresh and clean.  
  
He couldn't figure out for the life of him why they were keeping him so well fed, but he figured it would do no harm to keep his strength up.  
  
He was about to bite into the cheese when the room was filled with another blinding flash of light, the creature scuttled away on all fours, as though It were terrified.  
  
Thranduil blinked his eyes repeatedly to clear the spots from them.  
  
When they cleared away, he saw the old man again, in his arms was none other than Elrond Peredhil, limp as a rag. Thranduil was surprised to see the gnarled figure easily support the weight of a fully grown elf.  
  
He was about to leap to his feet and demand to know what was going on, when the cage door flew open without anyone touching it, Thranduil would have tried to escape, but he found himself frozen in place, the last thing he saw was Elrond being dumped on the floor across his feet, before darkness took him.  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
Rivendell:  
  
The first thing Elladan was aware of was an aching head. He tried to raise his hand to rub it, but found he couldn't. He could hear Estel yelling at him, but couldn't move to acknowledge him. It was deeply frightening for him to be frozen in this manner, but there appeared to be nothing he could do about it.  
  
Time passed, how much, he wasn't really sure. He was aware of being alone for awhile, then of someone carrying him.  
  
Darkness consumed him for awhile after that, until he became aware of a familiar voice calling his name.  
  
"Elladan."  
  
He struggled through the darkness, and tried to reach the voice, it was like swimming through tar. The voice sounded so familiar, he couldn't quite place who it was though.  
  
"Elladan, come on elfling, time to get up!"  
  
Gandalf, that's who it was. Only Gandalf and Ada still called him elfling, and in some vague part of his mind, he was aware that Elrond was missing. How he knew that, was beyond him, but he was definately aware that his father was not there.  
  
"Elladan, wake up! We need you now, come on!"  
  
He bit back a groan, and thought 'I'm trying, I am!'  
  
"Elladan! Come on now, time to get up!"  
  
Elladan's eyes flickered open, and focused vaguely on the wizard.  
  
Gandalf smiled down at him and smoothed a lock of his hair back from his face.  
  
"Welcome back to the land of the living, Master Elf."  
  
"I cannot move Gandalf...." Elladan managed to force the words out between his stiff lips.  
  
"I know."  
  
Elladans eyes widened as they took in the second voice.  
  
"Legolas..."  
  
"Yes, it is I, mellon nin. Just relax, it will wear off soon."  
  
Elladan sighed, and did his best to comply.  
  
Gandalf and Legolas settled in armchairs nearby, chatting quietly. Their voices were comforting to hear while Elladan slowly came out of it. It took him awhile, but eventually, he could sit up, and drink some water.  
  
That was a big relief, the water, he didn't think he'd ever been that thirsty in his entire life. And he had lived a long time. Legolas had to hold the cup up to his lips, and Elladan's hands were none to steady yet, but Elrond's firstborn son frankly didn't care, he was just grateful to have the dryness in his throat relieved.  
  
That was at lunchtime, by dinner, he was able to walk down to the table, with some help from Gandalf and Legolas, that is. Glorfindel, Aragorn and Elrohir joined them as well, a bandage adorning his head.  
  
"Alright." Gandalf stared at the elves around the table, and then turned to Aragorn, who was seated at his right. "I want to hear everyone's version of what happened. I have heard what Legolas remembers, which isn't much."  
  
"Wait," Elladan looked confused, "what do you mean Legolas? He wasn't even there."  
  
"Oh, right. Legolas apparently experienced the same thing with his father about four days ago now." Elrohir smiled at his still slightly muddled twin.  
  
"Whatever spell was cast on you, Elladan, was also cast upon Legolas. Thankfully, it appears to wear off in about 24 hours, and so far, Legolas has shown no after-effects of the magic. Although, he remembers very little about what happened to his father. I would like to hear what you remember about your father's dissapearance, I have already heard Elrohir and Estel's testaments."  
  
Elladan nodded. "We were looking for Elrohir and Estel, something about flour in the Hall of Fires." Elrohir and Estel shared a guilty look at the mention of their little prank, "Ada and I went out into the woods surrounding Imladris, we were about to turn back when we both sensed danger. We looked around for a moment, but didn't see anything. We were going to turn back when there was a crash... someone fell out of a tree." Everyone looked at Aragorn.  
  
"It was Elrohir! Why does everyone automatically assume *I* was the one who fell out of the tree?"  
  
Elrohir snickered, "Because it's usually you, little brother."  
  
Estel gave him a dirty look, and threw a roll from his plate at the younger twins head. Thanks to the concussion, Elrohir's reflexes weren't what they normally were, and the roll bounced off his forehead. Legolas covered his mouth to hide the snickers, and Glorfindel stayed Elrohir's hand, when he made to retaliate.  
  
"Now is not a good time for a foodfight, children." The ancient elf looked decidedly annoyed.  
  
"Sorry Glorfindel." Elrohir and Aragorn both murmured apologies quickly. One does not anger a Balrog-Slayer if they could avoid it.  
  
Gandalf supressed a smile. "Please continue Elladan."  
  
Elladan rolled his eyes at his younger brothers, and went on, "I turned around to see what it was, but I couldn't tell. All I could see was a body at the foot of the tree, so I knelt beside him, to see if he was all right. Then there was a flash of light, and... nothing."  
  
Elladan looked at Gandalf helplessly. "that's all I remember Mithrandir, I'm sorry."  
  
The Istar smiled at Elladan kindly. "No, it's very helpful Elladan. However, I think Aragorn has contributed the most. This wizard, or whoever it was you saw, Legolas. Did he look at you, or your father?"  
  
Legolas frowned, searching his memory for an answer. "I'm not sure, my memories of that day grow ever foggier, I think he was looking at me."  
  
Gandalf nodded. "I think he intended to take you, and Elladan, not your fathers. From what Aragorn has told me, the wizard was pointing at Elladan when Elrond shoved him out of the way."  
  
The table was filled with silence for a moment, as four elves, a human and a wizard stared at their plates helplessly.  
  
Elladan looked up, and met Gandalf eyes. "So, what now?"  
  
Gandalf shook his head. "I'm not sure, Master Elf."  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
Elrond moaned softly. He was vaguely aware of something digging into the soft part of his stomach, but couldn't do anything about it.  
  
How long he lay there on his stomach was beyond him. It was as though someone had carved him out of stone.  
  
Eventually, he was able to open his eyes, and slowly shift his weight to the side, which, of course, didn't help one bit.  
  
Valar, it felt as though he were lying on a pair of logs! Or... legs. He mentally smacked himself on the forehead, of course they were legs. That made more sense than logs.  
  
It took some time, but, eventually, he was able to shift his weight off the legs, and sit up. He leaned against a wall, and found himself facing Thranduil, Elven King of Mirkwood. Frankly, he couldn't have been more shocked if he were hanging upside down from Isengard with a balrog.  
  
"You're awake." Thranduil stared at Elrond with icy blue eyes.  
  
Elrond decided he would have gotten a warmer greeting from the balrog.  
  
"Where are we?" Elrond studied their surroundings. Some kind of cell in an underground cave. There were three other cells outside the bars, but none of them had doors, so, of course, he had to share this tiny cell with Thranduil.  
  
"Do I look as though I know?" Thranduil looked really irritated.  
  
Elrond sighed, and fought to keep his temper. There appeared to be no way out, at the moment. No windows, not a breath of fresh air. It was dark, dank and stale down here. The only light came from a small torch in a wall across the way, and the natural glow of their elven bodies.  
  
Elrond drew his knees up to his chest, rested his elbows on them, and prepared to wait. Sooner or later, their captor would appear, and then they would escape. Until then, patience was the key.  
  
Valar help him, it was going to be difficult to be patient when trapped in a cell with the snobbiest elf in all of Elvendom.  
  
TBC  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
A/N; heh heh well, it's not to bad a cliffie.... at least you know what happened to Elrond and Thranduil now, right? Special thanks to Goblz and Lord Angelus! My first reviewers!!! YAY!!!  
  
READ AND REVIEW EVERYBODY!!!!! WE AUTHORS LIVE FOR REVIEWS!!!!! 


	4. Chapter 4

Taken  
  
ch. 4  
  
disclaimer; I don't own any of these characters they belong to Tolkien. I'm not making any money.  
  
A/N as always, thanks to Cathy for the original plot bunny, and for helping me when I get stuck!  
  
On with the fic! ~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
Rivendell:  
  
After dinner, everyone retired to the Hall of Fires. Elladan draped himself over an armchair, and stared blankly into the fire, while Elrohir sat on the floor beside the chair, and absently laid his aching head against his brothers arm. Legolas and Aragorn were seated across the room on a settee, in almost identical positions, their elbows resting on their knees, their chins propped up on their hands.  
  
Glorfindel refrained from mentioning that neither an Elven Prince, nor a Future King should be sitting in such a manner.  
  
For that matter, the sons of a great Elf Lord should not be sitting on the floor, or abusing a perfectly good chair in such a manner, but again, he kept quiet. They were worried about their fathers, and weren't really thinking about sitting properly.  
  
He and Gandalf were seated on stools by the fire. The old Istar was puffing away on his pipe, and staring off into space, apparently lost in his thoughts.  
  
Glorfindel sat up straight on his stool for awhile, before eventually giving in to his worry over his dear friend, and unconsciously mimicked Aragorn and Legolas' position, resting his elbows on his knees, and his chin on his hands.g  
  
What on Middle Earth were they going to do? They had no clues as to where Elrond and Thranduil had been spirited away to, nor what the being who had stolen them away wanted them for.  
  
They weren't even sure it was Thranduil and Elrond he wanted. If they weren't, what would he do to them? Release them, or... he stopped the thought right there. He wasn't going to think of that. Elrond would return to them, or he, Glorfindel, the Slayer of Balrogs, and the only elf to return from Mandos by sheer force of will, would find him, and punish the one who dared take the Elf Lord from his own home.  
  
Glorfindel groaned mentally. Of course, they had not the slightest inkling of how to find him.  
  
He let out another weighty sigh.  
  
What on Middle Earth were they going to do?  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
Locked in their cell far below the Misty Mountains, both Thranduil and Elrond's thoughts were mirroring Glorfindels. They had been sitting silently for more than an hour, avoiding looking at each other if at all possible. No more than a few short sentances had been exchanged between them, and it was quite clear that both would prefer being locked up with a cave troll, than each other.  
  
After a stretch of silence that lasted almost twenty minutes, Thranduil sighed, and looked at the Elf Lord speculatively out of the corner of his eye.  
  
Elrond sat staring silently at the wall, though he didn't appear to be seeing it.  
  
He had a bruise running along one side of his jaw, where it had connected with the floor when he'd been tossed in the cell.  
  
Thranduil considered a moment. They were stuck in this predicament together, and if they wanted to get out, they would have to work together. So he was going to have to put away his own stubborn pride for the moment, and make some kind of overture.  
  
Thranduil looked down at the food and water beside his knee. He'd only eaten about half the bread and cheese, and it still looked edible. There was about 1/3 of water left as well.  
  
He picked up the plate and cup, and spoke softly, "Are you hungry?"  
  
Elrond looked at him, startled out of his revery. "what?"  
  
"Are you hungry? I have some of my lunch left over, if you want it."  
  
Elrond looked at him, somewhat suspicious. "It's edible?"  
  
Thranduil sighed impatiently, and shoved the food and cup into the other elf's hands.  
  
"Of course it's edible, I ate it! Do I look ill to you?"  
  
Elrond suppressed a smile. "No, you look fine. How did you get here?"  
  
He reached for the food and water gratefully, he was indeed very hungry and thirsty.  
  
The Elven King ran his hands through his hair absently, a habit his advisors, and Royal Hair Dresser often scolded him for.  
  
"Pretty much the same way you did, I assume. Except, I think the sorcerer wanted my son, not me."  
  
Elrond was about to state how similar their situations were when the sound of a wicked laughter filled the chamber.  
  
"I didn't want either of you, you foolish creatures. You're both far too old."  
  
Both Elves turned around, to see the figure of the old man standing outside their cell, his servant, a boney, shriveled figure, cowering at his feet.  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
*ducks* Ok, I KNOW this chappie was really short, but I want to drag this out as much as possible, I LOVE torturing you guys!! But don't worry, I'm starting on chappie five right now! It might even be out tonight! I know! Two updates in one day! The sheer madness of it all!  
  
more A/N  
  
HobbitsrFun: I'm glad you're enjoying this! Keep reading, I try to update every day, or every other day, if possible. The old man is not at all like Gollum, however his servant is, in some ways. You'll see the differences soon, I promise!  
  
Saber: I did post the chapter at MC, you must have missed it. I'm glad you're enjoying so far, I tried to give a few answers in this chappie. I wouldn't laugh at Elrond too much, he might give you The Look of Doom, lol.  
  
Iawen Londea: Glad you're excited, keep reading, it's only going to get better!  
  
TIO: I'm so happy everyone is enjoying this! YAY!! keep reading and reviewing!  
  
Lord Angelus: lol! I know how you feel! I love it when I review a fic, and the author answers me back! No, I don't think Haldir will be in this one, but I like writing him so maybe in a sequel? You never know!  
  
Shadowfox: I don't think of Thranduil as snobby at all, but Elrond does. I'll make this a little clearer as I go on! I wouldn't have put ol' Thranny in the story if I didn't love him to death! I always thought it was no wonder Legolas and Gimli were friends, because it always seemed to me that Gimli was very much like Thranduil in temperament. Don't worry, no one will think of Thranduil as snobby by the time I'm done! Not even Elrond!  
  
Trustingfriendship: I'm so glad you're enjoying the story, keep reading! I'll try to put in plenty more bickering just for you!  
  
Thanks for Reviewing everyone, and don't forget to review this chappie too!!!!!  
  
XOXO Cor  
  
P.S. Check out my other fics posted on FF.net, They're called 'Brothers Under the Sun', 'How to Catch a Fish', and 'The End of the World'. Enjoy! 


	5. Chapter 5

Taken  
  
chapter 5  
  
Disclaimer; I don't own any of this, it all belongs to Tolkien, this is just for fun, I'm not making any money.  
  
A/N; as always, thanks to Cathy for the plot bunny, and special thanks to Trin for helping me with some fact finding.  
  
I'm just going to pick up right where I left off last time :)  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
"Too old?" Thranduil looked indignant. "What do you mean we're too old? And what is the meaning of this? Let us go this instant!"  
  
Any further demands Thranduil might have made were cut off, as the sorcerer waved his hand in front of the Elf Kings face.  
  
His jaw snapped shut with an audible crack, and not another sound emitted from his mouth, although you could clearly see fury sparking out of his eyes.  
  
Elrond found himself vaguely wondering if he could use that trick on the twins sometimes, it would be nice to have some peace and quiet in Imladris once in a while.  
  
He focused on the shriveled man before him, and spoke a good deal more calmly.  
  
"I know you didn't want me, you wanted my son. Why?"  
  
Though he spoke softly, even a balrog would have quailed at the protective light in his eyes.  
  
The sorcerer didn't even flinch. He actually looked mildly interested.  
  
"That was your son? Handsome lad."  
  
"Yes, he is. But what do you want with him?"  
  
The sorcerer laughed softly, a harsh, grating sound, causing the creature cowering at his feet to cringe even further, if it was possible.  
  
"Do you really want to know?"  
  
Elrond nodded silently, while Thranduil fumed impotently beside him. If they hadn't been stooped over in a tiny cell deep underground, with an obviously evil sorcerer cackling at them across the bars, Elrond would have been quite amused at Thranduil's silent fury.  
  
"Very well, follow me."  
  
The door to the cell swung open, Elrond and Thranduil just stared at it for a moment, blank shock on their faces. Then Thranduil darted out the door, and made to run down one of the tunnels.  
  
"It's pointless." The sorcerer called after him.  
  
Thranduil paused, and turned around staring at him clearly confused.  
  
The sorcerer smiled, a sickening expression on his withered face, "We're miles underground, you'll die of starvation or be killed by the thousands of orcs wandering between here and the surface. They work for me, you know."  
  
Thranduil stopped in his tracks, and gave the sorcerer a dirty look, before moving to stand beside Elrond, who had merely stepped outside of the cell, figuring that on something like that.  
  
The shriveled figure beckoned to them, and limped down the hall to the right, his servant scuttling along behind him.  
  
Elrond and Thranduil exchanged a glance, before following them.  
  
~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~  
  
They took several twisting, turning paths, before coming to a large open room, with several small doorways leading off to the sides, all of it carved exquisitly.  
  
Definitly dwarvish craft, Thranduil sighed, mutely cursing all dwarves everywhere for the prison he and Elrond found themselves trapped in.  
  
In the center of the room was a large stone table, with a long box of glass lying on top.  
  
Long enough for a person to lie inside.  
  
A coffin.  
  
You could clearly see the figure of a young man lying inside. The bent sorcerer moved forward with his awkward gait, and laid a hand on top of it.  
  
"I have seen both your sons, this is mine. Soleair. He was killed in the Last Alliance of Men and Elves, during the final battle with Sauron."  
  
Thranduil stared in open-mouthed shock.  
  
It took Elrond a moment to collect his thoughts.  
  
"That's impossible, that battle was nearly 3000 years ago! He looks as though he died this morning!"  
  
The sorcerer merely smiled.  
  
"Yes, he does."  
  
He moved around the coffin, and faced the confused looking elves.  
  
"Now, you two are much too old, as I have said, but you may still be of use to me. You see, I can only enter each of the Elven realms once every hundred years, and I cannot enter Lothlorien, the Lady Galadriels magic is to strong for me. But, I need two fairly young elves, and they're hard to come by outside the Elven Realms alone. I spent hours lying in wait for a young elf to happen along in both of your homes, and of course, you two go in the way."  
  
He turned to look at Thranduil.  
  
"I'm going to assume that was your son you so selflessly took the place of, he looked to much like you to not be related, and I could tell he was to young to be your brother. I'm sure you want to know how, let's just say I have my ways."  
  
He shifted his gaze back to Elrond, who looked impassive, but was on the verge of panic, he could almost see what was coming in the wizards eyes.  
  
"I think I'll just send a little clue as to your whereabouts to Rivendell and Mirkwood, hmm? Then your brave, handsome sons will come a-running to save you, and I can have MY son back."  
  
Elrond started to ask what, exactly that meant, but was silenced as he and Thranduil were swept off their feet, as though by a tornado, and plastered to the wall, their heads thudding against the stone with an audible CRACK.  
  
The diminuitive sorcerer lowered his arm, and they fell to the ground, the room spinning madly around them, blood trickling down onto the collars of their shirts.  
  
The last thing Elrond saw, before the freezing spell took him again was the cackling wizard unbuttoning his shirt.  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
more A/N hobbitsrfun: I was wondering about that! It kind of scared me I hadn't made it clear they were two separate entities. Keep reading, more of the servant soon!  
  
Rainydayz: I'm glad you're enjoying, keep reading!  
  
trustingfreindship: I'm glad Thranduil loosened up a bit too, he can be kind of rude sometimes. You're on the right track with your guess. keep reading!  
  
Lord Angelus: Lol! I'm glad you like Elrond and Thranduil, they're pretty funny to write! Sorry, I don't think Haldir will be in this fic! Maybe the next one?  
  
goblz: keep reading! I'm really glad you like it!  
  
pennsuleien: Thanks for the compliment! I hope you liked this chappie as well!  
  
Okies, that's all for today folks!!! don't forget to Review!!!!!! 


	6. Chapter 6

Taken  
  
ch. 6  
  
disclaimer: I don't own any of this, blah blah blah, I'm not making any money.  
  
A/N special thanks to Cathy for the plot bunny, and for answering my seemingly random questions.  
  
I tried to make this chappie a little longer, since everyone was screaming at me to make the chappies longer, lol!  
  
on with the fic!  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
A door banged shut, and loud feet pounded across the floor in the entryway. Glorfindel looked up from the mound of papers in front of him, and rolled his eyes.  
  
He had sent the Twins, Aragorn and Legolas out hunting earlier in the day, simply to get them out from underfoot. They'd been pacing all over Imladris like caged wargs for the past two days. Elrohir's head had healed completely, and Legolas and Elladan suffered no ill effects from whatever spell had been cast on them.  
  
Gandalf sighed from across the table. They had piles of books and papers spread all across it, searching for some clue as to the identity of this strange sorcerer who had spirited away a great Elf Lord, and the Elven King.  
  
So far, they had no clues as to who he was, much less where he was, and Gandalf was considering traveling to Minas Tirith to see if the libraries there could help them, since it was becoming abundantly clear that the Library of Rivendell held no answers.  
  
The door to the dining hall swung open with another loud bang, and the twins burst in, with Aragorn hot on their heels, Legolas brought up the rear, dragging a large sack intended for game behind him. The sack was moving. Strange.  
  
Glorfindel studied them, as they stood before him, huffing and puffing. Elladan had a tunic of some kind clutched in his hand, he held it up for Gandalf and the Glorfindel to see. Glorfindel identified it immediatly, it was Elronds.  
  
The ancient elf struggled to remember if his lord had been wearing it the day he disappeared. He didn't have to wonder long.  
  
"He was *pant* wearing this the day he disappeared! *gasp* I remember, because I got a real good view of it when..." Elladan paused when his younger brothers started snickering helplessly. "what's so *pantgasp* funny?"  
  
"Nothing, brother, please continue, how did you *sniggergasp* get such a good view of it?"  
  
Elladan gave his twin a suspicious look, "He grabbed me by the ear *pant* and held me there for a minute... my face was like 6 inches from his chest, of course I got a *pant* good look at it!"  
  
Aragorn giggled, a very unmanly sound but he couldn't help it.  
  
"And, pray tell, why did he grab you by the ear Elladan?"  
  
Elladans brow furrowed, and suddenly, all the pieces came together. "The flour.... You, you...." He was momentarily speechless.  
  
Aragorn and Elrohir collapsed on the floor in helpless fits of laughter, as Elladan stared at them in shock, and the rest watched in confusion.  
  
"Will someone *please* explain what's going on here?" Glorfindel grabbed the shirt from Elladans hand, who looked as though he'd been put under another freezing spell.  
  
Glorfindel's words seemed to snap him out of his shock as he moved to pounce on his younger brothers and beat the living daylights out of them. Luckily, the older elf had anticipated that, and caught the older twin by his collar, preventing him from killing the other two.  
  
"What is going on?!" His tone of voice effectively stifled the mirth of the other two, while Legolas and Gandalf watched, looking somewhat bemused, the sack forgotten between them.  
  
Aragorn bit back another snicker, "Well, Elrohir and I found out that Elladan had been sneaking out to the stables to, um, *talk*" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at Glorfindel "with the maid from the kitchens. What's her name, dear brother?"  
  
Elrohir propped himself up on one elbow "Amariel, dear brother."  
  
"yes that's right, Amariel. We thought it would be funny if Ada caught them *talking*, but we couldn't think of any ways to get him out to the stables at that particular time of day, without him being suspicious, unless of course, he was looking for us. So we covered the Hall of Fires in flour to lure him out there."  
  
With that, he and Elrohir collapsed in helpless laughter again.  
  
"Oh, Elladan *snickergasp* you should have seen your face *gasp* when Ada grabbed your ear, it was p-p-priceless!"  
  
It was a very good thing Glorfindel had a hold of the victims shirt, for he surely would have rent his twin limb from limb at that point.  
  
"What do you mean?! You were watching?!" Elladan's fury was apparent, the look on his face would have frightened a cave troll, but his brothers were oblivious.  
  
"F-f-from the *snicker* rafters" Aragorn was howling by now, and lay helpless on the floor, laughing hysterically at the older twins impotent fury.  
  
It was all Legolas and Gandalf could do to smother their own laughter, it was a very clever prank. Something only the slightly convoluted minds of Estel and Elrohir could have come up with.  
  
Gandalf cleared his throat. "What about the shirt, did you find it in the woods when you were hunting?"  
  
He spoke loudly enough for everyone in the room to hear, and Legolas jumped. "Oh yes, it was delivered to us. By an orc." He spat out the name of the creature, as though it were a particularly bad dwarvish curse. "I caught him and shoved him in the sack, so you could question him Gandalf!" Legolas looked quite proud of himself.  
  
Gandalf smiled, "Very well, take him out of the sack, but keep a good grip on him, we don't want it running willy-nilly around Rivendell."  
  
~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~  
  
It took a good half hour, but they eventually got answers from the wicked creature, who promptly expired at Elladans hands after they'd gotten all they could from it. The older twin, still miffed at his brothers' prank, was glad to have something to take his anger out on, though the creature didn't suffer needlessly.  
  
Aragorn, Legolas and Elrohir went to pack as Elladan disposed of the creatures corpse. They were heading to the Misty Mountains, the orc, after some persuasion, had given them directions to a hidden network of caves, where their fathers were supposedly were being kept  
  
"Are you sure you trust that creature?" Glorfindel leaned in the doorway, watching the three pack provisions for the trek into the mountains.  
  
"Of course not, but he had Ada's shirt. And, in case you didn't notice, there was blood staining the collar. I'm going to at least look into this."  
  
Glorfindel nodded, admiring the younger twins persistance. "Very well, I have to stay here to keep things running in your fathers absence. Gandalf has decided to go to Minas Tirith, to seek some answers in the library there. You four are to be careful, understand? Do *NOT* engage this wizard if you can avoid it!"  
  
Elrohir nodded, and shouldered his pack, scooping his twins up off the floor, "Agreed. I've seen what he can do, and I don't want to be caught under that spell if I can avoid it."  
  
He ran to catch up with his younger brother and Legolas, who were waiting in the courtyard with Elladan. Elrohir tossed his brother's pack to him lightly, and they stood facing Glorfindel.  
  
The ancient elf smiled, "Got every thing you need?"  
  
Aragorn nodded. "Yes, Legolas and I double-checked."  
  
Glorfindel nodded, "good. Be careful, and bring them home quickly."  
  
With a final nod, Aragorn turned, and led the three elves out the gates.  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
"Hold still." Thranduil was getting thoroughly annoyed with Elrond's constant shifting around. "I'm almost finished, honestly, you're bleeding like a stuck pig, Peredhil!"  
  
Elrond sighed, and stilled his head. He and Thranduil had awakened back in their cell, shirtless, of course. The sorcerer's servant had left a bowl of water and some bandages for the captives, and Elrond had already finished tending the nasty cut on the back of Thranduil's head.  
  
Now he was to sit still while The Elven King tended his own. The elf had little experience healing wounds, and it was making Elrond a little nervous, hence, his current squirming.  
  
"Make sure you clean the entire wound, Oropherion! I don't want an infection."  
  
"I know, sit still Peredhil, or I'll never be finished!" Thranduil pulled the last of the bandages around Elronds head. "There, done."  
  
Elrond nodded tersely. "Thank you."  
  
Thranduil scooted back, and leaned against the wall, Elrond did the same.  
  
"Now what?" Thranduil looked frustrated. "How do we warn our sons of the danger they're in?"  
  
Elrond shook his head. "I don't know. Let's get some rest, maybe we can think of something in the morning."  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
more A/N:  
  
Hobbitsrfun: lol, well I'm glad you're enjoying the interaction between Elrond and Thranduil! They seem to be getting along better, don't you think?  
  
goblz: one of your favorites? REally? Awwwwwwww *blushes* thanks!  
  
TIO: Is this soon enough? I try to update every day, so check often!  
  
Lord Angelus: I'm glad you're resigned to the lack of Haldir in this fic, I'll try to write a one-shot about him soon! If you can send a good plot bunny my way, that is!  
  
pennesuleien: I'm glad you're enjoying!! I don't think it'll go on forever and ever, but I think it's going to go for awhile yet.  
  
Shadowfocs: lol, I don't think I can update that often, but I usually update every evening. This story takes place when Aragorn is about 22 years old, so about 40 years before LOTR. Elladan and Elrohir are around 2000 years old, no one knows how old Legolas is, my guess is he's around the same age as the twins. I'm not really sure how old Elrond and Thranny are, there's no mention of their birthdates in any of the books I have.  
  
Thanks for reading, keep reviewing!  
  
XOXO Cor 


	7. Chapter 7

Taken  
  
ch. 7  
  
disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters (except for Astadel, Amariel, Torninean, It, Sneak and Machiad, they are mine, my own, my precioussssssss) , they belong to Tolkien. Don't worry, I return them unharmed when I'm finished. Well, mostly unharmed. This is just for fun, I'm not making any money off of it!  
  
A/N: as per usual, special thanks to Cathy for getting this plot bunny started. This picks up a week after we left, off, during that time, nothing of any real interest happened. In case you're looking for a specific timeline, Thranduil has been trapped there for 2 weeks now, Elrond for a week and 4 days.  
  
This is a repost, I was informed that I was using the wrong elvish dictionary, my elvish was actually D&D, not Tolkien. So, here is Chappie 7 with the proper elvish. I think the only other elvish I used was in chappie 1, and it was only one letter off, so you'll have to just forgive that.  
  
Oh, and today, we finally find out the Wizards name! Yay!  
  
on with the fic!  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
Elrond and Thranduil spent the next week with no one but the other for company.  
  
During that time, they alternated from wanting to kill each other, to wishing they had gotten to know the other better, sooner.  
  
The creature brought them a fresh ration of bread and cheese and water every morning, and, frankly, Elrond and Thranduil agreed that if they never saw bread or cheese again, it would be far to soon.  
  
"So, you still insist that is was Celeborn who put that frog in my sheets at your wedding?!"*  
  
Elrond rolled his eyes, "Yes, of course it was! Don't you think I had bigger things on my mind that evening than playing a silly prank on you?"  
  
Thranduil chuckled, "I would certainly hope so, but I find it difficult to believe that Celeborn would play such a childish prank!"  
  
"He would."  
  
Both their heads swivelled around at the unfamiliar voice, their keen eyes searching the shadows for it's owner. A shriveled, distorted figure crept out of one of the unused cells.  
  
"He always plays pranks like that, he just makes sure no one suspects it was him."  
  
The creature crept toward them, keeping to the shadows, as always, as though it were trying to hide it's ugliness from them. It's voice was sweet and clear, though, belying it's appearance, and it sounded decidedly feminine.  
  
She stopped when she was just about 6 feet from them, and curled up in the shadows.  
  
Elrond and Thranduil stared in open mouthed shock, the sorcerer's servant had never spoken before.  
  
Thranduil recovered first, and knelt directly in front of the bars, trying to get a better look at her.  
  
"Who, or what are you, that you speak of Lord Celeborn, High King of the Elves so familiarly?"  
  
She chuckled softly. "I was once as you are, Thranduil Oropherion, oh yes, I know who you are, both of you. I am called Sneak, though, once I had another name. Machiad stole me and my husband away many years ago, and made us as we are today. I get your food every day from Machiad's private stores, for he would leave you to starve. My husband helps as much as he can, by distracting his Master."  
  
"His Master? And who is this Machiad you speak or?" Thranduils eyes narrowed, looking at her suspiciously.  
  
"They are one and the same, the man who brought you both here, and intends to steal your sons' immortality, to bring his own son back to him."  
  
"That's what he wants them for?! Such a thing is impossible!" Elrond finally snapped out of his stupor, and knelt beside Thranduil. It irritated him that it had taken so long, all this time in the dark with no one but Thranduil for company was beginning to wear on him.  
  
"It is not impossible," Sneak slipped deeper into the shadows, "He found an ancient spellbook in the tower of Dol Guldor, not long after his son was killed, it told of ways to use the power of the elves against them. It's how he can freeze your body like that, but the power of Galadriel is too strong, even for him! If your sons were to go to Lorien, he could never touch them, they would be safe there."  
  
Elrond's impressive eyebrows furrowed, "yes, he mentioned that he could not enter Lothlorien. What did you say your name was?"  
  
"What my name was no longer matters, I am Sneak now. I was lucky, I suppose. When Machiad cast his spell upon my husband and I, he also stole my husbands voice, and most of his mind. He only does what he is told now." She cast her eyes down, "He only listens to his Master now."  
  
"So, you are not Machiad's servant?"  
  
"No, my Lord, but my husband is, he doesn't know any better. Please forgive him."  
  
Elrond sighed, "There is nothing to forgive, Sneak, le gerin i'gur egor raw you have the heart of a lion, you have great courage to try to help us."  
  
A tear trickled softly down her face. "It does my heart good to hear the grey tongue again. It almost as though I were myself again instead of...." she trailed off, and looked down at her distorted figure in disgust.  
  
She had almost unconsciously shifted forward, less than an arms length away from the two Elves now. Thranduil reached his arm through the bars, and placed a finger under her deformed chin. "Brennil nin my lady, if you can help us to defeat Machiad, then I will do all within my power to help you and your husband. There are great healers on Valinor, greater than any known here on Middle Earth. They may be able to help you."  
  
Sneak shook her head, and pulled away from the Elven Kings touch. "No, I fear we are forever trapped as we are. The only freedom for us will be found in the Halls of Mandos. I will not leave until Machiad is destroyed, though. Only then can we be free."  
  
She snapped her head to the right, "Someone comes! I must go."  
  
As she disappeared as silently as she had appeared, Elrond and Thranduil heard footsteps coming down one of the tunnels.  
  
As they watched a regiment of orcs appeared, remarkably well organized, for orcs that is.  
  
"Take the prisoners to the Master!" The lead orc's harsh voice grated in their ears, as they were dragged forcibly back down the tunnel from whence the orcs came.  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
Legolas sighed, and gave the Twins and Estel a withering glare, that, unbeknownst to him, was identical to the one his father frequently used on him.  
  
"You want me to just go into another accursed cave with you three?! What about what happened last time?"  
  
Elrohir grinned, "which time? The one where we were nearly stepped on by a cave troll, or the one where a stalactite almost skewered you?"  
  
"Or the one where we were chased around for 6 hours by a horde of goblins?" Elladan cheerfully picked the thread where his twin had left off.  
  
He had been remarkably easy to get along with this journey, considering the prank his brothers had played on him a week and a half ago. To easy to get along with altogether, Legolas decided to watch Elladan, or might be caught in the revenge with Estel and Elrohir.  
  
Legolas shot the twins a dirty look, "pick one. But if our fathers might be in there, I suppose we'd better hurry."  
  
The foursome exchanged worried looks, and headed into the cavern.  
  
It was dark, and clammy inside, and no sooner than they had cleared the entrance were all three elves were struck with a terrible sense of impending doom. Alas, it was too late, the entrance caved in behind them, and about 500 orcs appeared from all sides and surrounded them quickly.  
  
"Yrch spit! A trap!" Legolas spun around, looking for an escape. Of course, there was none, before they knew it, ropes were being tossed at them from all directions, and they were roped up like a group of wild horses. Their weapons were yanked from their hands, and they were roughly searched for more.  
  
Aragorn struggled roughly against the ropes, and was rewarded with a sharp blow to the head, promptly knocking him unconscious. As Legolas watched in horror, the twins were dealt the same treatment, he made to protest, to curse at the evil creatures, anything, but a sharp pain at the base of his skull rendered him silent, and after a second blow, there was nothing but darkness.  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
heh heh heh *author hides in a corner, covering her head* Don't worry, the next chappie is already started, and should be out tomorrow! I've entitled it, the chapter in which things get steadily worse *grin* please don't kill me!  
  
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*this is a reference to my fic 'how to catch a fish!' Go read it, it's pretty funny!  
  
more A/N:  
  
goblz: Well, you didn't have to wait long! I'm glad you enjoyed Aragorn and Elrohir's little prank on Elladan, wait until he gets his revenge! lol.  
  
MBM: WOW! ALL of them?! Great! Just make sure you tell them to review too!! Keep reading, it's only going to get better! (I hope)  
  
Lord Angelus: I'm glad you liked the prank, I had a lot of fun coming up with it, lol! I'll probably get started on your Haldir fic today or tomorrow, depending on how soon you send me some ideas! I write fast, so you could even have it by monday!  
  
Natalie: Thanks for the art! It's great, I loved it, it made me laugh. You can tell Thranny I don't think he's a bad father! It's just all the other authors who do! lol  
  
Okay, that's it for today folks, come back tomorrow! Same bat-time, same bat-channel! (I think I just dated myself. eep!)  
  
XOXO Cor 


	8. Chapter 8

Taken  
  
Ch. 8  
  
disclaimer: I don't own any of this, it all belongs to Tolkien, but I sure wish it was mine. I'm not making any money.  
  
A/N: thanks to Cathy for the plot bunny, for helping me find my lost reviews, and for the torture suggestions.  
  
This picks up right where chappie 7 left off.  
  
On with the fic!  
  
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Elrond and Thranduil did not struggle as they were led down the twisting, turning passages by about 50 orcs.  
  
They figured it was rather pointless, being as they were unarmed, out numbered 25 to one, and didn't even have their shirts for protection. So, instead, they attempted to maintain their dignity, and move with a modicum of grace.  
  
When they reached their destination, both their hearts sank straight to the bottoms of their finely crafted boots at the sight that greeted them.  
  
They were standing in a large, round room. In the center was a raised dais, on it the corpse of Soleair, still looking as though he were merely sleeping, and not dead for nearly 3000 years.  
  
On either end of the dais, were two parallel posts, about chest high. Chained upright between them were none other than Elladan and Elrohir. On the opposite wall, Legolas and Aragorn were dangling by their arms, their feet just barely touching the ground. The latter wasn't wearing a shirt, either.  
  
His bare chest was covered with angry red scratches, and some nasty bruises. His chin was resting against his chest, his eyes closed. It looked as though he'd been dragged across a gravel pile half naked.  
  
The Twins and Legolas were also unconscious yet, but it appeared they were beginning to come around, Elrond could hear them moaning softly as they rose to consciousness.  
  
It took all his willpower not to run to his sons' and comfort and protect them. He knew damn well he was in no position to be protecting them, he couldn't even protect himself.  
  
Next to him, Thranduil was having a similar battle with himself. Since the death of Legolas' mother, the Elven Kings world had revolved around his only child, much to the child's chagrin. Thranduil knew without a doubt that if Legolas were to leave for Mandos, so would he, and there was to much for them both to do and see in this world yet.  
  
However, Thranduil was wise enough to know that any rescue attempts on his part would result in not only his death, but the death of his son, Elrond's sons, a Future King, and Elrond himself. He did NOT want Celeborn, Galadriel and Gandalf following him to Mandos to visit their wrath upon him, and, oh, they would. Of that much he was certain.  
  
So he stayed put. But it wasn't easy.  
  
As Elrond and Thranduil struggled with themselves, Machiad hobbled in, grinning from ear to ear. Thranduil absently thought that the sorcerer resembled an insane squirrel, the way he was scrambling across the floor.  
  
"Secure those two on that wall." He gestured at Elrond and Thranduil, then at the wall opposite Legolas and Aragorn. The Elf Lords were bound the same way as their sons, arms stretched up over their heads, feet just barely touching the floor.  
  
Machia grinned at them, a twisted horrible expression on his face.  
  
"You know, from the moment I saw you," He patted Elrond on the chest, "I knew you looked familiar. My little friend here has just informed me that you are Lord Elrond, one of the Elven Commanders at the Last Alliance. You were there when my son was so cruelly stolen from me."  
  
Elrond was momentarily speechless, he watched over Machiad's shoulder as Legolas' head rose, and stared directly at him, then the Prince turned his head away, as though in shame.  
  
Confused, Elrond shook his head. "I am who you say, but who told you?"  
  
Machiad gestured toward Legolas. "He demanded to know your whereabouts when he was brought in a few hours ago. I had my servants knock him out again, as he was being hopelessly loud."  
  
"I am sorry, Lord Elrond, Adar, I didn't mean...." Thranduil and Elrond silenced Legolas with almost identical looks.  
  
"Yes Machiad, I was there, as was Thranduil beside me, and his father as well. We all lost people we love on that day. Thranduil lost his father, and we both lost many many dear friends. You lost your son. I sympathize with your loss, truly, but you cannot steal the life of one to give to another."  
  
"Oh, yes I can. And I will. You can't stop me. Besides, I won't be stealing it, they'll be giving it to me. Or rather, to him. All I have to do is convince them." He was almost cackling with glee by now. "You didn't tell me you had twin sons, Elrond. The spell will be much more powerful that way. Twin's are very rare in the Elven world, I've spent an entire age studying your kind. I know everything I need to know. And you will watch, just as I watched my son die. Only for you, it will be worse, for they will be reduced to shrivelled, mindless remnants of what they are now. They won't even be granted the mercy of death."  
  
He was truly insane, Elrond could see that now. "There is no way you can convince them to give up their lives! Not for one who has been dead for 3000 years! They won't do it!"  
  
As he spoke of them Elladan slowly raised his head, Elrohir followed suit. They looked around, confused. As the reality of their situation sank in, the began to tense and strain against the chains binding them upright, but to no avail.  
  
Machiad turned toward them, and ran a finger down Elladans cheek. The older twin jerked his head away, as best he could.  
  
"Such handsome sons you have. Pity they won't be much longer."  
  
He turned to his orcs. "Wake up the human."  
  
He turned back to Elrond, after giving Elladan a final, almost gentle, pat on the cheek, the way one would pat a particularly fine horse.  
  
"I've noticed your sons are quite protective of this human here."  
  
The lead orc grabbed Elrond's adopted son, and shook him roughly by the shoulder, but found it unnecessary. The youthful ranger had already raised his head, and was taking in the whole situation silently.  
  
He had heard pretty much everything, as he came around. This looney wanted to steal his brothers' life, to bring his own son back to life. He didn't think such a thing was possible, but judging by the look on his father's face, apparently it was. Well, it didn't matter, Elladan and Elrohir would never agree to such a thing, not if he any say about it.  
  
"Don't do it! Don't do what he says!" Aragorn strained against the chains, and the orc walloped him in the head.  
  
"Be quiet, human."  
  
Machiad limped around, and caught Aragorns chin in his hand. "I think they will do as I say, for every time they refuse, you'll pay the price."  
  
Aragorn twisted his head away, and spat at the wizard. "They won't care. They don't care about me at all."  
  
Of course, this argument didn't work at all, as every elf in the room was watching with varying degrees of distress on their faces. Several orcs grabbed Aragorn roughly, and unbound his hands. He was moved towards the center of the room, where everyone could see him clearly. The twins, Elrond and Thranduil had a clear view of his face, while Legolas watched him from behind.  
  
His arms were yanked back above his head, and bound to a ring in the ceiling. He winced softly as the orcs practically pulled them out of their sockets.  
  
Machiad turned toward Elladan and Elrohir, "One chance, do as I ask, and I won't hurt the human."  
  
The twins exchanged a glance, and silently agreed. Elladan spoke for them both. "We will not give of our own immortality to grant your son life again. It's unnatural, and nothing good can come of it."  
  
Elrond sighed, partially in relief, partially in terror for his youngest. Valar only knew what Machiad would do to the human.  
  
The wizened sorcerer grinned. It seemed he was glad to have a chance to torture Aragorn. Elrond realized in a sudden flash of insight, that whatever spell Machiad had cast to grant himself immortality had horribly warped his mind. No human would relish torturing another living being this much.  
  
Machiad turned to the lead orc again. "Flog him, thirty lashes. Oh, and make sure you put that special ointment on the whip. You know the one."  
  
The orc grinned, "Yes Master."  
  
A nasty looking bull whip was brought out, and dipped in a bucket of noxious-smelling, black fluid. Aragorn watched in silent horror, and, though he didn't show it, he hadn't felt this helpless in a long time, well, not since the last time he and Legolas got together at any rate.  
  
He gritted his teeth as the lash was brought across his back, cutting through already tender and bruised skin. It burned like a wildfire across his flesh, and as soon as one stripe was laid, another followed. There was no break for him to catch his breath, only blinding, mind-numbing pain.  
  
His elven companions turned their heads away, unable to watch. Only Thranduil saw, steadfastly holding the humans pain-filled eyes with his own. He saw the agony in them, as the whip cracked across his back, time after time, and found himself admiring Aragorn more than he thought possible, for though the pain had to be terrible, the Ranger didn't show it. His expression was stony, and devoid of all feeling.  
  
It was to those stormy, blue-grey eyes Aragorn clung, until, finally, around lash number 20, he couldn't keep silent any longer. Whatever it was the whip was being continuously dipped in, burned like fire in his wounds, and Aragorn could no longer contain his screams.  
  
As another long, red welt was laid across his back, he let out a horrible scream, almost inhuman in it's intensity.  
  
Elrond squeezed his eyes shut as his son's first cry rent the air, echoing eerily in the cavern. The orcs cheered, and urged the lead orc on. Elladan and Elrohir tucked their heads down, hiding the silent tears that trickled down their cheeks. Legolas' face, like his father, showed no emotion whatsoever, at least, to one who didn't know them well.  
  
To those who did, you could see they were silently sharing Aragorns suffering, they felt every crack of the whip in their souls, as the Ranger felt it on his back.  
  
Finally, it was over.  
  
Aragorns back was nothing but a bloody pulp, the wounds dripping with blood, and the black poison that coated the whip.  
  
The Ranger hung limply from the chains, his head lolling to one side, barely conscious.  
  
Machiad clapped his hands with glee, "well, that was simply delightful, wouldn't you agree, Lord Elrond?"  
  
He spoke Elronds title with just a hint of derision, though if wanted to get a rise out of the the Elf Lord, it didn't happen. Elrond ignored him totally, and focussed his attention on his youngest.  
  
"Estel. Open your eyes. You need to stay awake my son."  
  
His heart was in turmoil. What a choice! His elven son's or the son of his heart! Elrond wanted more than anything to pummel Machiad into a quivering heap on the floor, but of course, such a plan was quite impossible. So, instead, he thought of ways to save them all. Of course, nothing came to mind. He was beginning to think there was no way out of this situation at all.  
  
For the first time in his immortal life, Elrond was on the verge of giving up hope.  
  
Machiad turned to the twins, ignoring Thranduil and Legolas for the moment, there would be time to deal with the two of them later. Perhaps the orcs would enjoy playing with them. They did so hate pretty things, and the Elven King and his son were just about the prettiest elves he'd ever seen.  
  
The insane wizard cupped Elrohir's chin in his hand. "So what say you, little one? Will you give me what I desire, or shall I punish the human some more?"  
  
Elrohir jerked his head out of Machiads withered hand, and looked stonily away. Machiad almost giggled with glee, and reached for Elladan, who turned his head away as well. It was apparent they weren't ready to cave yet.  
  
Very well, he could wait. He had already waited nearly 3000 years for this moment, why not indulge himself with the human a bit more.  
  
He reached into a pocket in his robe, and pulled out a vial of amber colored liquid.  
  
He held it up in front of Elrond's face, "Do you know what this is, Master Elf?"  
  
Elrond did not respond, he merely stared at Machiad with slate grey eyes. The expression on his face would have sent a cave troll running, but Machiad appeared not to notice.  
  
"This is called melicethin. It is an unusual substance I came across in Dul Goldor, very rare, but very powerful. A few drops is enough to kill a grown man. A single drop will cause agony beyond your wildest dreams, just watch."  
  
"NO!" Elrond struggled wildly against his bonds, he'd seen that foul substance at work before. Many elves had been horribly tortured with it at Saurons hands, it was why most elves would kill themselves, before being taken captive by the Nazgul, or any other of Sauron's servants.  
  
Elrond had thought there was no more left, the last he had known of had been destroyed!  
  
Beside him, Thranduil wore a similarly horrified expression, no one deserved to suffer that way! Least of all, the mortal who had been the truest friend his son had ever known.  
  
Across the room, Legolas looked puzzled, and the twins wore identical expressions of confusion.  
  
"Ada, what..."  
  
Elrohirs question was rewarded with a smack across the face. He stared in open-mouthed shock at the wizard who'd had the nerve to slap him across the face as though he were a child who had spoken a forbidden word.  
  
"Children should be seen, and not heard." Machiad cackled at his own pun, and hobbled back across the room to Aragorn.  
  
"Hold him still, Captain." The Lead Orc gripped Aragorns hurting body firmly, and pulled violently on his hair.  
  
As Aragorns head was yanked back forcibly by his hair, his mouth automatically opened, and Machiad let a single drop of the foul liquid drop into the Rangers mouth.  
  
It burned bitterly against his tongue, like acid. Aragorn made to spit it out, but the orc poured water into the Rangers mouth, then forced his jaw shut, and pinched his nostrils closed, until he was forced to swallow every bit.  
  
For a moment, nothing happened, and Elrond thought perhaps, the fluid in the vial wasn't melicethin at all.  
  
Then Estel's body seized violently, his head thrashing back and forth, spittle flying out the corners of his mouth.  
  
He would have screamed if he could, but it seemed as if his lungs were filled with fire, not oxygen. Aragorn shuddered and shook for a moment, then it was over.  
  
He hung limply again, unable to even raise his head.  
  
Machiad grinned again, "Lets give him another dose, shall we Captain?"  
  
The Lead Orc grinned, his twisted features lighting up with sadistic glee, and grabbed Aragorn, forcing his head back again.  
  
As Machiad made to drop another dose of the evil substance in Aragorns mouth, Elladan cried out behind him.  
  
"NO! We'll do it, just leave him alone!"  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
A very good place to end, don't you think?  
  
*Author cowers under desk*  
  
Here's a hint, reviews make me write faster!!!!!!  
  
Till next time!  
  
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*huggles all the reviewers to bits* I wouldn't update so quickly if it weren't for your encouragement! Thank you all sooooooooooo much!  
  
elf #12: I hope this isn't too boring for you, lol. I'm not sure who's older, neither has a birthdate listed anywhere. If I had to guess, I'd probably say Elrond, simply because he has that whole history in the Silmarillion, while you don't really hear about Thranduil until the Hobbit. Though, I don't think there's a huge age gap, at least not by elven standards, maybe a few hundred years? That's just how I see it in my mind though.  
  
soulfulbee: Evil? Me? *looks innocent* I don't know what you're talking about.  
  
Canon Police: Uptight nitpicker is a good term, lol. This story is slightly AU, as I'm sure you guessed. As for the magic issue, I hope chappie 7 cleared that up for you, Machiad is actually using their natural magic against them, not to mention, that the spell he used didn't actually affect Elrond or Thranduil until he had them in his lair, it only affected their sons, who don't really have any magic to speak of, at least, not that I've read anywhere. I realize that Elves aren't prone to illness, but I would assume that a dirty, grimy head wound on anyone is not a good thing, and while maybe it might not get infected, one could assume it wouldn't heal properly if left untended. I'm glad you're enjoying the fic, however, keep reading! on a side note, that has nothing to do with this particular fic, XsilicaX (otherwise known as Cathy)and I would like to point out that our fic, ' The Gift of Hope' is set in an AU timeline, similar to the one of Cassia and Siobhan's Mellon Chronicles, and that Gilraen actually died when Aragorn was 76, not in his 20's. But she and I would both like to thank you for sticking so firmly to canon, which not enough people do anymore, and for reviewing our fic. Thanks!  
  
pennsuleien: Lol, sorry, I think things for the Twins are about to get REALLY bad, lol! And Legolas is none to happy either. Lol, keep reading!  
  
Lord Angelus: LOL! Yes, he plays pranks, go read How to Catch a Fish, and I think I'm gonna write a Celeborn playing pranks fic, I'll work it into a Haldir fic for ya! How's that for service!  
  
Nikki: I'm glad you're enjoying! Thranduil wasn't really blaming Legolas for the dammed up river, he was just telling him to fix it, lol!  
  
Trustingfreindship: Yeah, they have company, but I don't think anyone is very happy right now. Keep reading!  
  
XOXO Cor 


	9. Chapter 9

Taken  
  
chapter 9  
  
disclaimer: I don't own any of this, it belongs to Tolkien. I'm not making any money.  
  
A/N As always, special thanks to Cathy for the plot bunny, and helping me with my spelling! This picks right up where we left off yesterday!  
  
On with the fic!  
  
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Elladan watched his youngest brother's pain in silent horror.  
  
Elrohir had turned his face away, but Elladan could not. This was his brother, pain in the rear that he was, and Elladan loved him.  
  
As Aragorn thrashed and convulsed helplessly, his eyes rolling in his head in fright, Elladan had silently suffered with him.  
  
The drugs effects lasted for mere moments, but to Elladan, and every other elf in the room, it lasted an eternity.  
  
When Machiad had made to give the ranger a second dose, Elladan knew in an instant that a second dose would kill him.  
  
"NO! We'll do it, just leave him alone!"  
  
The words fell out of his mouth before he could stop them, but he knew that it was truly the only thing to do. Aragorn was, after all, the last of Isildur's heirs, and the line of kings couldn't be broken, or all would be lost.  
  
What were the lives of the sons' of an Elf Lord compared to the life of the King?  
  
Not to mention that Aragorn was truly beloved to his brothers, and they had borne all they could of his suffering.  
  
Elrohir turned his head toward Elladan and nodded softly. They would sacrifice their immortality for their brother, and pray to all the Valar that he would have the mercy to destroy whatever was left of them when it was over.  
  
Aragorn heard his brother's words through the loud ringing in his ears, shook his head to clear it. He instantly regretted it, as the ringing got louder.  
  
"no..." His voice was weak, even Elladan's sharp elven hearing could barely pick it up.  
  
"Be quiet, Estel" He was careful to use his brother's elvish name, not wanting to announce who his brother truly was, not sure of Machiad's disposition toward Isildur's line.  
  
"This is our choice, little brother." Elrohir longed with all his heart to reach for the youngest in his family, to soothe his hurts, and protect him from the world. But this was his only choice. The only way to protect Aragorn now was to give up his mind and immortality to another. He swallowed the lump of fear in his throat, and faced his fate grimly.  
  
"No, please... don't... do this...not...not....for me...." Estel tried to make out his brothers faces through the red haze clouding his vision, but he could see nothing. He could only hear their voices, and the fear in them. Whether it was fear for him, or themselves, he wasn't sure, but he desperatly wanted to alleviate it.  
  
Elrond watched the entire scene in horror, and yet, strangely grateful he didn't have to make the choice himself. He wondered what he would tell Celebrian, when he joined her in Valinor, without their sons by his side.  
  
Elladan took a deep breath, and turned his head toward Machiad, who'd been watching the whole situation with sadistic glee.  
  
"Give us some dignity, and unchain us."  
  
Machiad looked at him in genuine shock. "What?!"  
  
"We're not going to run away, your son died standing on his own two feet, let us do so as well."  
  
The wizened sorcerer considered his request, and to Elladan's shock, acquiesced. He gestured to his lead orc. "Unchain them, but watch them carefully. I don't want them running away."  
  
Elladan and Elrohir shifted quietly back and forth, bearing the close proximity of the orcs silently, though the rancid stench of their bodies almost made the twins gag.  
  
When they were free, both stepped away from the poles, and moved as one toward their brother. The orcs moved to grab them, but Machiad stopped them with a gesture. Elladan pulled off his shirt, and used it to gently wipe away the blood from Aragorns face. He leaned in close, and whispered something in the man's ear, whatever it was, it caused him to shake his head violently.  
  
Elrohir, always the gentle spirit, carefully smoothed his younger brother's hair back from his face, and turned to Machiad.  
  
"We'll do this, but you have to let them go. All of them."  
  
Machiad gave the younger twin a sickening smile. "Of course, Master Elf. You have my word. Now, if you two would return to your positions?"  
  
Elrond watched as his sons turned toward him, and met their eyes, first Elladan, then Elrohir. In his gaze was all the love he felt for the courageous pair, and a great deal of pride. They had grown up to be the Elves he had always hoped they would be, a thousand times over. He knew there wasn't enough time to say all he longed to tell them. So he spoke simply and clearly.  
  
"I love you, my sons."  
  
"I love you, Ada."  
  
"I love you, Ada."  
  
The words were spoken, almost in unison, and Elrond felt a tear slip unbidden down his cheek as the twins reached out an arm to one another, one last time, and took up their posts on either end of the dais.  
  
~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~  
  
interlude:  
  
~~~  
  
'My bare feet pound on the rocks, behind me, he's barely keeping up. In front of me, she's taking another turn. Ai Elbereth! How will we ever find our way back out of this hellhole?'  
  
~~~  
  
end interlude  
  
~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~  
  
The twins placed their hands on the tops of the gilt posts they had been bound to earlier at Machiad's instruction.  
  
They recited the words he spoke to them, the dark language of Mordor burning in their throats, and echoing painfully in their ears.  
  
Thranduil and Legolas watched in silent horror, with an odd sense of fascination, as a fire seemed to light them from within.  
  
For one shining instant, you could see how truly beautiful their souls were, before the light burned brighter than anyone's eyes could stand.  
  
~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~  
  
interlude 2:  
  
~~~  
  
'My breath comes hard and rough. Faster, faster, we must go faster! We're going to be too late!'  
  
~~~  
  
end interlude  
  
~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~  
  
Aragorn turned his head away from the light, Elladan's final words to him echoing in his ears.  
  
"Don't leave us to suffer. When the spell has been cast, end what is left of our lives."  
  
He railed uselessly against the chains as the fire inside his brothers burned out.  
  
"NOOOOO!"  
  
~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~  
  
interlude 3:  
  
~~~  
  
'Almost there, what is that bright light?'  
  
~~~  
  
end interlude  
  
~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~  
  
Elrond was in agony, 'Ai Elbereth, end my life now, for no parent should outlive their child!'  
  
His prayer was to no avail, Elbereth didn't smite him where he stood, though he wished it with all his heart.  
  
He'd seen elves die of a broken heart before, but he'd never understood how someone could just give up on life like that. Not until this very moment.  
  
The light that was his sons burned with the fire of a thousand stars for a brilliant, shining moment, and then, went out.  
  
Their bodies crumpled to the ground, black, and shrivelled, as though they'd been burned in a fire.  
  
On the table, Soleair sat up with a sudden start, looking at the cavern around him, completely shocked to be alive.  
  
As he looked around, a vision of beauty unlike any other filled his eyes, and a smokey voice cried out.  
  
"Stop."  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
Okay, don't kill me! I'll post more tomorrow! Really! I promise!  
  
Reviews make me post faster!  
  
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A/N:  
  
goblz: No, I didn't mean it that way, but that's kinda how it came out, huh? Well, as you can see, Elrond loves his twins just as much as he loves Aragorn. Keep reading!  
  
Lord Angelus: I'm glad you're enjoying, and no, I didn't forget about the ring, it's going to play a part in the story soon. But, if Machiad can use their natural magic against them, who's to say he can't use the power of the ring against them as well.  
  
pennsuleien: It doesn't say how old Elrond and Thranduil are in any of the resources I have, although, 8000, and 6000 would probably be as good a guess as any. Thanks for reading!  
  
And to the three of you, I want to thank you! You're my loyal reviewers, and you make me want to keep on writing! Big hugs and kisses to all three of you!  
  
XOXO  
  
Cor 


	10. Chapter 10

Taken  
  
ch. 12  
  
disclaimer: I don't own any of this *sigh* I never did. It all belongs to Tolkien, or his heirs, or estate, or whatever. This is just for fun, no harm intended, I'll return all characters unharmed. For the most part. I'm not making any money off this.  
  
A/N: you guessed it! Special thanks to Cathy for the bunny that got this whole thing started, and to all my wonderful reviewers! *huggles EVERYONE who reviewed* Your kind words make me want to continue writing. Also, a BIG thank you to Halo, who really helped me figure out where I was coming from in this chappie.  
  
Ok! We're gonna pick right up where we left off!  
  
On with the fic!  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
Soleair stared in shock at the vision before him.  
  
The last thing he remembered, he had been sitting in the Halls of Mandos, chatting with Oropher and Gil-galad about proper sword technique, when there was a flash of light, and here he was, alive.  
  
He blinked at the strange sensation of breathing again. After not needing to breathe for 3000 years, it was difficult to remember how. Not to mention he had never seen such beauty in all his life.  
  
She spoke one word, but it was full of command, like one who was quite used to having her commands obeyed.  
  
"Stop."  
  
Her voice was smoky, deep, and sultry. Her sapphire blue eyes were fixed on Machiad, and no one else. Golden hair fell down her back in a silken cascade, her full mouth was fixed in a straight line.  
  
It was in that moment that he realized that this Elf-maiden was furious. And that he was surrounded by orcs.  
  
He leapt to his feet, and was instantly rewarded with a wave of dizziness, strong arms wrapped around his shoulders, and steadied him.  
  
"Easy son, the spell will leave tired for awhile yet."  
  
The voice in his ear was vaguely familiar, but raspy, as though unused for a long time.  
  
"Father?"  
  
He turned around slowly and beheld the visage of his father for the first time in an age.  
  
It was hideous, he was covered in wrinkles. What had once been healthy firm skin, was now grey and leathery, and sagging from his bones.  
  
Eyes that had been a warm brown were now a hideous yellow, and his teeth were all but rotted out of his head.  
  
Soleair tore his eyes from his fathers ruined visage and looked around the room. Laying at his feet was what he took for a corpse at first, then he realized that whatever it was, it was still alive.  
  
Soft grey eyes stared at him vacantly. He glanced down as something brushed his ankle, a identical pair of eyes met his own, before it reached it's arm out to the other, and they curled in a heap on the floor.  
  
As Soleair watched, the elf maiden stepped forward, holding a hand directly out in front of her, palm up, as though she were telling someone to stop. A brilliant light burst forth from it, and every orc in the room was reduced to dust.  
  
She knelt on the floor beside the ruined figures at his feet, and turned to Machiad.  
  
"What you have done is an abomination! We are not so far from Lothlorien that I cannot destroy as easily as I destroyed your minions."  
  
The creatures rested their heads against her bosom, and closed their eyes in sleep, their twisted, blackened limbs entangling familiarly with one another.  
  
She lowered her golden head, and murmured to them in Elvish, though he didn't know enough of the tongue to know exactly what she said, the meaning was clear.  
  
It was an apology, though what she had to be sorry for, he wasn't sure.  
  
He heard a soft sob behind him, and saw the figure of a man, hanging helplessly from a ring in the ceiling, he was covered in red welts and blood, as though he'd just been viciously whipped. His head was hung down, and he was sobbing quietly.  
  
Soleair tore his eyes from the Man's grief, and studied the rest of the room.  
  
On one wall was a very pretty elf, shaking his head, as though he were in shock, on the opposite wall was "Lord Elrond!" Soleair spoke his name in a horror. The elf looked as though someone had stolen his soul away.  
  
Soleair had fought on the same battlefield with the Elf Lord, and even shared a meal or two with him, and some of the other mortal soldiers. He'd come to respect him greatly for his determined nature. That elf had never given up, even when all seemed hopeless, Elrond had kept on.  
  
But now, he looked so lost. It was deeply disturbing to the young soldier.  
  
Beside him was the son of Oropher, who Soleair had only seen in passing once or twice, and who's name he couldn't think of at the moment.  
  
All three elves were hanging from rings on the wall, in a similar fashion as the young man who was still crying softly behind him.  
  
Soleair turned to the shrivelled figure of his father. "Almightly Illuvatar, father, what have you done?"  
  
The elf maiden looked up from her precious burdens "He has stolen the immortality of my grandsons to bring you back from the dead, young man."  
  
Though her face was youthful, her eyes bespoke of great age, and wisdom. And raw fury.  
  
Soleair found himself wanting to cringe away from her, so angry was she it looked as though she could burn him to ashes with her very eyes.  
  
Machiad smiled, and stepped toward his son, "I brought you back is what I did, now you can live forever, beside me!" He opened his arms to Soleair, as though he expected him to rush into them.  
  
Soleair remained where he was, silent and unmoving.  
  
Machiad lowered his arms, looking angry. "I give you life not once, but twice and this is how you repay me?!"  
  
Soleair shook his head. "Do you think I don't remember how I died? That Nazgul would have struck you! But you shoved me in front of you! I died in your arms, because you were to cowardly to take a blow meant for you! Not to mention that it's clear you used dark magic to bring me here! I gave my life fighting the forces of darkness, and you use them to bring me back?!"  
  
He shook his head, stepped back, turned around, and began to work at the sobbing young mans chains. He quickly realized that he would need a key.  
  
Turning back to his father, he looked at him with cold blue eyes. "Give me the key, now."  
  
Machiad looked at his son in disgust. "I will not."  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
Ok, well this was a HARD chapter to write, so I'm going to stop here, and maybe post a second time tonight. At least it's not a cliffie, well, sorta not. By the way, anybody figure out who our mysterious elf maiden is? I hope so, I tried to make it blatantly obvious without actually saying her name. *grin*  
  
Anyways, I'm gonna go work on chappie 11, and try to get it out tonight!  
  
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more A/N:  
  
Iawen/goblz: You'll just have to wait and see!  
  
Naughtynat: *blushes* I'm so glad you like it! No promises, SOMEBODY's gonna die by the end of the story, I'm just not saying who.  
  
Lord Angelus: *HUGS* they're not dead! See?  
  
Halo: *hands her a helmet* please don't hurt yourself reading this story, I don't have insurance against lawsuits. Keep reading!  
  
Pennsuleien: *hands her a kleenex* don't cry! just keep reading!  
  
*hands out kleenex and helmet's all around* Hold on to your seats!!!! Chappie 11 is gonna be out soon!  
  
XOXO  
  
Cor 


	11. Chapter 11

Taken  
  
ch. 11  
  
disclaimer: I don't own any of this, it all belongs to Tolkien. This is just for fun, I'm not making any money off it.  
  
A/N: Thanks, as always, to Cathy, for sending this little bunny my way! Once again, we're picking right up where we left off!  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
Thranduil watched horrified as the long-dead human sat up from the dais, and stared at his surroundings.  
  
The human looked utterly shocked, and the Elven King had a feeling he himself wore a similar expression. Beside him, Elrond made a horrible choking noise as his sons collapsed onto the ground. Elladan was obscured from his view by the dais, but Thranduil could see Elrohir, and what he saw wasn't good.  
  
His body was twisted and deformed, his skin blackened and leathery looking. Even his hair had lost it's healthy lustre. It spread out around his head, all greasy and dead looking.  
  
The only thing that remained unchanged was his eyes, they were still soft and grey, but empty, as though no one were there.  
  
Thranduil was given no time to cope with this shock as he was dealt a second mere moments later.  
  
The Lady Galadriel ran into the room, her bare feet padding almost soundlessly on the rock floor. Though her entrance was quiet, no one could have missed her. She brought a brilliant light with her, wherever she went, and she lit up the dim cavern effortlessly.  
  
She gave a soft cry, and help up her hand, palm out, and reduced the orcs to ashes. Then she rushed forward, and gathered her grandson's ruined forms close to her.  
  
Thranduil was certain she spoke, but he couldn't remember what she said. His cousin Celeborn's wife always made it difficult for any male of any race to focus on anything but her.  
  
Thranduil shook his head, and focused on Elrond. "Elrond! Elrond, we have to get loose!"  
  
There was no response. The Elf Lord just hung limply from the chains, a blank look on his face, it was as though his mind had left with his sons.  
  
Thranduil twisted in his chains, and managed to nudge Elrond in the ribs with his toe. Still nothing. Thranduil sighed, and let his head fall back against the wall.  
  
Alright, fine. He was clearly on his own. The rest of the elves in the room had apparently temporarily lost their minds.  
  
Across the room, Machiad was distracted by an argument with Soleair, the younger was demanding a key from his father.  
  
The Elven King watched, bemused, as Soleair actually tackled the old man, and began searching his person for the key.  
  
"He won't find it." A soft voice whispered in his ear.  
  
Thranduil turned, and found himself looking into brilliant green eyes. It took him a moment to realize that, as lovely as they were, they were set in a face that was warped and twisted by the cruel intentions of an evil wizard.  
  
"Sneak." He smiled at her, as she held the key in front of his face.  
  
"I can't stand up straight anymore, and even if I could, I wouldn't be able to reach your arms."  
  
Thranduil thought a moment, "Can you balance yourself on my leg, if I brace it against the wall?"  
  
She nodded, and he bent his left leg, and braced his foot against the wall. She, in turn, placed one foot on his calf, and the other in a crack in the wall behind him, and quickly unchained him.  
  
His arms dropped to his sides, and he sighed in relief. Sneak handed him the key, and Thranduil quickly unchained Elrond, who, of course, simply slumped to the floor.  
  
He turned to Sneak, "Can you stay with Elrond? I'm going to fix this mess once and for all."  
  
Sneak nodded her assent, and Thranduil walked across the room, kicking orc ash left and right as he strode along. He stopped a moment beside Galadriel, and, placing a hand on her golden head, murmured in her ear. She looked up at him, and he saw the silver tracks staining her lovely cheeks. He brushed a tear away, and smiled, before moving to unbind his son.  
  
Legolas wasn't in much better condition that Elrond. Well, Thranduil could take that from Elrond, but it wasn't going to wash with Legolas. He unlocked the chains, and Legolas sank slowly to the ground, his knees tucked up against his chest.  
  
Thranduil sighed, and grabbed his son by the arm. He felt kind of bad about yanking the poor lad about like this, but he needed help to pull this off. Since Elrond's mind was bye bye at the moment, and Aragorn didn't look like he could stand on his own, it had to be Legolas.  
  
The Elven King pulled Legolas to his feet, and thumped him on the back, just hard enough to surprise him. Legolas looked at his father with wide blue eyes, and for an instant, Thranduil saw his wife standing before him. The vision very nearly drove him to his knees, but he quickly pulled himself together, and handed the key to Legolas.  
  
"Free your mortal friend, I'm going to deal with Machiad." Legolas nodded, and moved toward Aragorn.  
  
Thranduil left him to his task, and covered the ground between Machiad and himself in 5 long strides.  
  
He caught Soleair by the shoulder, and yanked him back. The sheer strength in Thranduils arm send the formerly dead soldier sprawling backwards. Before Machiad could cast his freezing spell, Thranduil brought his fist down hard on the old man's head.  
  
He slumped to the ground, and didn't move. At that moment, Gandalf arrived.  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
A/N: I would just like to point out that I was considering stopping at this point, and posting last night. However, I knew someone would come after me with sharp objects, or give themself a skull fracture by pounding their head on a wall without a helmet. So I opted to continue :)  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
Gandalf surveyed the scene before him. Elrond was sitting, staring blankly at the floor, Sneak was beside him, patting his cheek, trying to bring him back to reality.  
  
Thranduil stood over the limp form of Machiad, fist raised over his head. The look in his eyes was one that had not been seen in many hundreds of years, and it was enough to freeze a raging Balrog in it's tracks.  
  
Legolas sat on the floor, cradling a bleeding Aragorns head in his lap, while a strange young man Gandalf didn't recognise, but took to be Soleair, was tending his many wounds gently.  
  
Galadriel was sitting on the floor, cradling two shrivelled and ruined forms in her lap.  
  
Gandalf sighed, they were too late to stop Machiad from working his dark magic, so they would just have to find a way to undo it.  
  
He strode forward with more power than one would expect from one who looked so aged. He caught Thranduil's fist before he could deliver a second blow to the unconscious sorcerer.  
  
He patted the Elven King on the shoulder, "Instead of killing him, mellon nin, why don't we tie him up and get some answers?"  
  
Thranduil looked severly disappointed at being thwarted in this manner, but he acquiesced, and between the two of them, they bound Machiad to the very dais where his son had been lying only moments before.  
  
Gandalf then ignored the unconscious wizard, and turned toward Galadriel.  
  
"My Lady, I realize that you wish to comfort and care for your grandsons, but I need your help. Perhaps we can relegate your burden to Elrond?"  
  
Galadriel nodded softly, and allowed Thranduil and Gandalf to gently pick up the twins, and place them next to their father, who snapped out of his stupor enough to gather them close.  
  
"Thranduil, can you watch Machiad? Let me know the instant he awakens, Galadriel and I will tend to Aragorn."  
  
Thranduil nodded, and stood near Machiad's head, occasionally giving the unconscious sorcerer dark looks out of the corner of his eye.  
  
The High Queen of the Elvenkind, and the Grey Pilgrim knelt on either side of Aragorn, who was now lying on his stomach, with his head on his arms, while Legolas and Soleair gently cleaned the wounds on his back.  
  
There were so many welts criss crossing his tender skin, that Gandalf winced at the pain he must surely be in. And yet, he made no complaint, only flinched occasionally, when one of them hit a particularly sore spot.  
  
With four people working at it, his wounds were cleaned in short order.bg Gandalf produced some healing herbs from the folds of his robes, and Aragorn sighed in relief as they were applied, then he was bandaged, and Legolas helped him to sit up.  
  
As they finished, Machiad moaned softly, and his eyes flickered open.  
  
He took in the sight before him, which was basically Thranduil staring down at him, with dark fury burning in his icy blue eyes, and opened his mouth to cast the freezing spell. Galadriel merely waved her delicate hand in his direction, and a glowing sphere coalesced around him, and he was rendered impotent..  
  
Gandalf stood beside Thranduil. "Now, you will tell us how to reverse this spell, and send your son back to Mandos where he belongs, or we will make your life VERY painful. And believe me, Thranduil is more than willing to accomodate me on the second part."  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
Heh heh. Okay, so things are looking up for our heroes! Now, maybe you all will let me live? Please? *author looks a little nervous* I really would like to write a sequel to this, and I have some other fics in the works as well, some of them will even be happy, and funny! Anyways, tune in tomorrow!  
  
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more A/N:  
  
Nikki: *hands her a paper bag, and the next chappie* There ya go! Keep reading!  
  
Halo: No, no! See? Everything looks like it'll be ok now, right? Don't be evil in your bunny, please!  
  
Sake Girl: Thanks for all the reviews!! Keep reading!  
  
Kasandra: I plan to finish it, I promise! I'm one of the rare authors who updates daily! So keep reading!  
  
TIO: *hands her some smelling salts* Here's more, please try not to faint!  
  
Iawen: Don't cry! *hands her a kleenex* Keep reading!  
  
NaughtyNat: LOL! I'm glad you're enjoying yourself! However, the Lady Galadriel has asked me to inform all who read this fic that no one, save her husband, is allowed to refer to her as 'Galaddy' and since she can reduce orcs to ashes with a wave of her lovely hand, I sincerely hope everyone listens! lol :)  
  
Pennsuleien: *grin* yup, we sure do! I just hope they end up that way. I should tell you that this story isn't really under my control, it's kind of telling itself. Fair warning, I don't know what' happening next!  
  
Lord Angelus: *hugs back* Of course there will be more Elrond V. Thranduil! I promise that much!  
  
Okay, that's all for today!  
  
XOXO  
  
Cor 


	12. Chapter 12

Taken  
  
Chapter 12  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of this, it all belongs to Tolkien, or his estate or whatever. This is just for fun, I'm not making any money from it.  
  
A/N: As always, thanks to Cathy for getting this lil bunny started, and to Trin for helping me name Elladan's dagger :) I apologize for any mistakes in my elvish. My grasp of the language is poor at best, and any constructive criticism in that department would be more than welcome.  
  
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Machiad struggled in vain against the chains that bound him to the dais where his son had lain. It was useless, he was trapped, and that accursed elf witch had blocked his powers. It had taken him centuries to gain them, and now he couldn't even use them. It was enough to make him want to kill that brat he had given life to, not once, but twice.  
  
Children.  
  
Feh.  
  
Ungrateful creatures.  
  
He turned his attention to the angry elf standing above him.  
  
Thranduil, son of Oropher. He should have known. He should never have kept the Elven King prisoner. Oropher was always to bull-headed for his own good. It had gotten him slain on the same battlefield as Soleair, when he foolishly charged before Gil-galad had given the command.  
  
Thranduil had obviously learned from his father's mistake, biding his time, until he could strike.  
  
Stupid elves. Nothing but trouble, as always.  
  
Like that little fool, Sneak. He'd been trying for years to exterminate her, but she was damn resilient. Lucky for him, he had her husband under his control. She'd never done anything against him as long as he had her husband.  
  
Now that accursed It had vanished. Valar knew where he went. Machiad wanted to kick that wretched creature with all his being at that moment. But it was a foolish wish, he was clearly powerless, and his hours on Middle Earth were numbered.  
  
Well, he wouldn't tell them what they wished to know, not if he could help it.  
  
He would die silent, before giving away his secrets.  
  
That would be his revenge on all of them.  
  
Let the pitiful twins live out the remainder of their lives as the twisted, deformed creatures they now were.  
  
Served them right.  
  
He rested his head agaisnt the stone, and grinned maniacally. They would pay for this final indignity. Oh how they would pay.  
  
He hoped they suffered for all eternity for this.  
  
~~~*~~~  
  
Thranduil resisted the urge to drive his dagger into the sorcerer's stomach.  
  
He'd picked it up from a pile of confiscated weapons on the ground, and ignored the inscription at first. Now, he had a quiet moment while Gandalf and Galadriel plied the silent Machiad with questions, so he studied the runes on the blade.  
  
Naurhathol, hathol o'Elladan Elrondion, Edhellen Daug, Tirith o'Estel*  
  
Elladan's blade. He balanced the dagger in his hand, it had a good heft. Turning his head over to where the First Born Son of Elrond lay, curled up in a pitiful heap, he wondered if Elladan would ever wield the fine dagger again.  
  
Thranduil flipped the blade absently around in his hand, and tried to think happier thoughts.  
  
"You WILL tell me how to undo this spell, Machiad. Long have I let you live under my nose, I didn't trouble you, you left my people and myself alone. But you have crossed a line. If my grandsons are not returned to their natural state, I shall visit horrors upon you that you can't even begin to imagine."  
  
Galadriels sapphire blue eyes sparked with fury in her normally serene face, but Machiad stared at the ceiling silently, seemingly unaffected by her anger.  
  
In an unusual display of temper, for any elf maiden, much less a High Queen, Galadriel slammed the flat of her hand down beside his head.  
  
"Answer me, sorcerer, or face the consequences."  
  
He looked slowly at her, then away again.  
  
Thranduil was certain flames would spurt out her ears, if Machiad didn't answer her soon.  
  
Galadriel took a deep breath, fighting the fury that was boiling in her like a volcano, and made an exasperated gesture to Gandalf, who was standing nearby, bemusedly smoking his pipe.  
  
"Man innas ammaen caro?" what will we do  
  
Gandalf smiled at her cryptically, "Im car-u ul." I do not know  
  
Galadriel threw up her hands, and sat on the ground beside her still sleeping grandsons and catatonic son-in-law. Tenderly, she brushed a stray lock of hair out of Elrond's face, and laid her head against his shoulder, in a way Thranduil had seen her daughter, Celebrian do many times.  
  
Whether it was the comforting familiarity of the contact, or simply that he had finally dealt with his grief, Elrond looked up, and met Thranduils eyes across the room.  
  
As he met the stormy grey eyes of the Elven Lord of Imladris, Thranduil wondered if perhaps Galadriel was seeking another method of reaching Machiad.  
  
~~~*~~~  
  
Celebrian was speaking to him, he could hear her voice and smell the sweet scent of her hair, it was all around him.  
  
'Elrond... you need to wake up now.'  
  
It took him a moment to realize that the voice wasn't whispering in his ear, as he originally thought.  
  
It was echoing in his head.  
  
That could only mean one thing  
  
'Elrond, I have need of you.'  
  
Galadriel.  
  
'Elrond, please.'  
  
It was the please that did it, he would later think. Galadriel rarely pleaded with anyone, but she was pleading with him now.  
  
So he dragged himself out of the depths of his grief, and rose to complete consciousness.  
  
He looked up, and there was Thranduil, playing absently with a dagger.  
  
Smoky grey eyes met icy blue for a moment, then Elrond shifted his son's into Sneaks arms, who was still kneeling beside him.  
  
She cradled them with the care she would have cradled her own children, Elrond smiled softly, and rose, offering his hand to help up Galadriel.  
  
"Alright, My Lady, what do you need me to do."  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
*Naurhathol, Blade of Elladan Elrondion, Elven Warrior, Guardian of Hope.  
  
Okay, well, thats it for tonight! Things are really starting to look up now, right?! :) Keep reading!  
  
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More A/N  
  
Naughtynat: Looks like Elronds mind is back, everyone cheer! Woohoo! Keep reading!  
  
TIO: Apparently, she doesn't scare Machiad. Hmmm, I wonder what his secret is, cause I'm afraid of her too!  
  
Serenity: I LOVE writing Cliffies it's soooooooo much fun! BWA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!! Keep reading anyways!  
  
pennsuleien: Awww, I agree, I'm glad I'm not the only Thranduil fan in the world! As for the Twins will to live, look for chappie 13!!  
  
shauna: *blushes* thanks for the many compliments, keep reading it'll hopefully keep getting better :)  
  
okay, that's it for today folks, see you tomorrow!!!!  
  
XOXO  
  
Cor 


	13. Chapter 13

Taken  
  
Chapter 13  
  
disclaimer: I don't own any of this, it belongs to Tolkien, this is just for fun, I'm not making any money off of this.  
  
A/N: You guessed it! Special thanks to Cathy for getting this whole thing started. Since someone asked, the name of Elladan's dagger, Naurhathol, means Fire-Blade, and Elrohir's (mentioned in this chappie) Draugdagnir, means Wolf-Slayer. I don't know if these would actually be names of elvish blades or not, but they sound good. So please don't flame me if they are incorrect.  
  
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It took Gandalf and Thranduil about ten minutes to fill Elrond in on what he had missed while he was, erm, indisposed.  
  
He picked up Elrohir's dagger from the pile where Thranduil had gotten Elladan's, and absently studied the inscription while he mulled over the problem.  
  
'Draugdagnir, hathol o'Elrohir Elrondion, Edhellen Daug, Tirith o'Estel'*  
  
The daggers had been a gift from Aragorn several years ago for the twin's Conception Day Celebration.  
  
He turned toward his youngest, who was leaning comfortably against Legolas' shoulder, and sighed, what could they do. Machiad wouldn't speak a single word, and it did them no good to kill him just yet, even though Thranduil was certainly more than willing to put him out of his misery.  
  
Turning again, he saw Soleair, leaning against a wall, not looking at all happy.  
  
The formerly dead human was flipping an arrow over and over in his hands, seemingly searching for flaws in it's construction.  
  
Elrond moved across the room, and leaned against the wall beside Soleair.  
  
"You won't find any."  
  
The human looked up, surprised.  
  
"Find any what?"  
  
Elrond smiled. "Flaws. This belongs to Legolas, he's such a perfectionist when it comes to his arrows."  
  
Soleair studied the elf lord silently a moment, then resumed fiddling with the bolt.  
  
"I suppose that's a good thing. You wouldn't want your arrows to stray when you're in battle."  
  
Elrond nodded. "You would know as well as anyone here."  
  
He studied the dagger again for a moment, as they stood in uncomfortable silence.  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
Elrond looked up, a little surpised. "What?"  
  
"I'm sorry. I feel as though this is my fault."  
  
Elrond shook his head, and tucked the dagger in his belt. Placing a comforting hand on the human's shoulder, much the same way he often did with his sons', he spoke loudly enough for everyone in the room to hear.  
  
"This is your father's madness, not yours, Soleair. Truly, no one here holds you accountable for your fathers actions. We are not responsible for the actions of those who come before us, only for our own."  
  
Soleair nodded, "Do you know how strange it is to find myself alive after so long in Mandos?"  
  
Elrond shook his head, "I can't even imagine."  
  
"My last memories of life are of my father, leaning over me, while I gasped for air. Do you know *why* I died? My father pushed me in front of him, the Nazgul very nearly sliced my head completely off. I bled to death in his arms, because he was too cowardly to take a blow meant for him."  
  
Elrond sat silent, not knowing how to respond to the humans anger.  
  
"Then, I was in this hall, it was beautiful! I couldn't believe that such beauty could exist! In the hall was a long table, and sitting at it were many fabled warriors, among them, Oropher, and Gil-galad. At the head of the table was a man. Well, I wouldn't really call him a man, except he looked kind of human, and was male. He told me his name was Mandos, and because of my deeds in the Last Alliance, I had been granted entrance into his fabled halls.  
  
"I was overjoyed! To spend eternity at Mandos' feast! Such an honor is rarely given to mortals, and yet, it was granted to me. I spent the last 3000 years talking to men, elves, and dwarves that have done *amazing* things! Slain dragons, giant spiders, even Balrogs! I particularly enjoyed the company of the Balrog slayer. Interesting elf, good sense of humor.  
  
"Anyways, last I remember, I was discussing sword technique with Oropher, and Gil-galad. When, suddenly, there was this flash of brilliant light, and here I was! Alive again, and at the expense of two other living beings. Immortal living beings no less. Your sons. I cannot apologise enough for my fathers actions."  
  
With those last words, Soleair broke down, and wept. His confusion, and frustration was overwhelming, and it was clear all he wanted was to return to Mandos.  
  
Elrond, who could never let another being suffer, reached out and gathered the mortal in his arms, and let him sob on his shoulder.  
  
The rest stood, or sat quietly at a distance, unwilling to disturb the scene across the room, though Thranduil's heart had quickened at the mention of his father's name.  
  
After a few moments, Soleair pulled away, and wiped his nose on his sleeve awkwardly.  
  
"What can I do to help you?"  
  
Elrond smiled at Soleair, "Help us find the answer. How do we undo this spell?"  
  
Soleair shook his head, "I have no idea."  
  
Thranduil spoke up from across the room. "Well, there *has* to be an answer somewhere!"  
  
Gandalf nodded, "Indeed."  
  
Elrond's impressive brow furrowed as a thought occured to him.  
  
"Sneak?"  
  
She looked up from where she had been absently humming a lullaby to the twins. "Yes, my Lord?"  
  
"Didn't you mention a spell book when you spoke to us earlier today?"  
  
She nodded eagerly, "yes my Lord."  
  
"Do you know where it is?"  
  
She looked crestfallen at that. "No, my Lord. Machiad has moved it from it's old hiding place."  
  
Elrond sighed. "Alright, you wanted to help us Soleair, see if you can find that book. Take Legolas and Aragorn with you."  
  
Legolas rose, graceful as always, and helped the Ranger to his feet. "Come, Soleair, let's see if we can find this book."  
  
Soleair rose from floor, and handed Legolas the arrow he'd been fiddling with.  
  
"Very well, but let's arm ourselves, I don't know if my father has anymore orcs running around here or not, and unless the Lady is coming with us, I don't think they'll be too likely to just run away."  
  
Aragorn chuckled, and retrieved his sword from the pile, and handed Legolas his bow and quiver.  
  
Soleair bent to pick up an orc's sword, but Elrond placed a hand on his shoulder.  
  
Startled, the human turned around, "yes my Lord?"  
  
Elrond pressed Elrohir's dagger into his hand. "This is my son's, and I expect he'll want it back, but I'm certain he won't mind loaning it to you for now."  
  
Soleair looked stunned. Thranduil picked up an orc sword from the ground, and handed Soleair Elladan's dagger as well. "Don't get killed, until we know for certain how to reverse the spell."  
  
Soleair nodded, and followed Aragorn and Legolas down one of the tunnels leading out.  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
*Grins* Well, I was originally planning on 10 chapters, it looks as though this will go to about 15 or 16 now. *Tightens helmet strap* ok, it's not a cliffie! not really! *hides behind army of clones*  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
more A/N:  
  
Young Bess: Thanks for the compliments, and the constructive criticism, I appreciate your thoughts, and I'm glad you're enjoying! Check out some of my other fics! I would enjoy your thoughts on those as well!  
  
Jo: THanks for reviewing! You ROCK Girl!  
  
Nikki: Glad I can provide you with some good insults! Keep reading!  
  
Naughtynat: I asked, and she asked if Ali G is an elf. I told her I have no idea who this individual is, and she says probably not.  
  
Azaelia: Thanks! I post almost everyday, to the great annoyance of my author friends, lol! I'm glad you're enjoying, keep reading!  
  
Pennsuleien: Thanks, I had a heck of a time coming up with the inscriptions for the daggers! I'm glad they got a good reaction out of you!  
  
Lord Angelus: Thanks! *smooches* I love that I have people who review every chappie I write!  
  
Okies, that's it for today folks, see you tomorrow!  
  
XOXO  
  
Cor 


	14. Chapter 14

Taken  
  
Chapter 14  
  
disclaimer: I don't own any of this, it belongs to Tolkien. I'm not making any money. At all. In fact, if you have some spare money, I would appreciate it! Please!  
  
A/N: Special thanks as always to Cathy for this lil bunny. Also thanks to Whit, you can blame her for anything untoward that happens.... um, yeah. I would also like to thank Becky, for helping me work out the kinks in this chappie.  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
Aragorn, Legolas and Soleair made their way down the tunnel. It was slow going, as Aragorn was wounded, and Soleair was still having difficulty coordinating his limbs.  
  
Legolas sighed in frustration, longing to move faster, but unwilling to leave his companions behind.  
  
The tunnel twisted and turned, and eventually led them to an intersection of sorts. The tunnel branched off in three directions, it was impossible to tell which one might hide the book.  
  
Soleair sank down against the side of the cave, his limbs ached horribly, they'd been unused for so long, that they were virtually useless now.  
  
Aragorn leaned his shoulder against the wall beside Soleair, trying to hide the extent of his injuries from his companions.  
  
Legolas turned to the two mortals, "what now?"  
  
Aragorn sighed, "we're going to have to split up. Each one of us can take a cave, and see what we find. We walk for no more than half a league, and if we find nothing, we turn back. We can then meet back here, and possibly turn back and try another tunnel."  
  
Soleair nodded, the young Ranger showed great wisdom, and seemed vaguely familiar.  
  
Try as he might, he couldn't place him though.  
  
Shaking off his musings, he rose, ignoring the desire to just stay sitting a while longer, and picked the tunnel that branched off to the left.  
  
"Very well, I will go this way, and see what I can find."  
  
The other two nodded, Legolas decided on the center tunnel, and Aragorn took the one to the right.  
  
~~~*~~~  
  
Legolas sighed again. He'd been traveling down this tunnel in the dark for quite awhile now.  
  
Stupid caves.  
  
His heart pounded in his chest, and he was beginning to have trouble breathing.  
  
When he'd been walking with Aragorn and Soleair, the claustrophobia hadn't been nearly so overwhelming. But now, it felt as though the walls might close in on him, and he'd be trapped in the dark forever.  
  
Frustrated with himself, he tried to shake off the anxiety that was plaguing him, and concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other.  
  
His boots made a soft crunching noise in the loose gravel beneath his feet, he absorbed himself in the rhythmic sound, rather than concentrating on the suffocating closeness of the cavern walls.  
  
The tunnel went on as it had, straight as an arrow, with no rooms or other tunnels branching off from it. The only change was a steady downward slope, which was not helping him out at all.  
  
He stopped, and took his bearings. He'd probably gone about half a league by now, and there was nothing here, not that he could see.  
  
He decided to go just a little bit farther, and took no more than three more steps when suddenly the ground disappeared beneath him.  
  
Legolas tried to twist and catch the sides of the hole, but it was to wide, he couldn't reach anything.  
  
He hit the ground with alarming speed, and didn't move.  
  
~~~*~~~  
  
Aragorn grunted as the tunnel took yet another sharp turn.  
  
His back was on fire, and his arms ached from being tied above his head for so long. Ignoring the pain, he pressed onward, into the inky blackness.  
  
The torch in his hand lit the cavern only dimly, and he was beginning to understand Legolas' dislike of caves. If he never saw another one, it'd be far to soon. He figured he'd gone about half a league now, and found nothing of any use to them.  
  
This particular tunnel appeared to be the quarters where the orcs had lived. Thankfully for him, it seemed that Galadriel had killed all the orcs in Machiad's employ.  
  
Sighing he turned back, and started the long trek back toward the intersection, when a small sound to his right caught his attention.  
  
He looked around, and noticed a crevice in the wall. It was small, and set a little ways back, so if he hadn't heard the sound he probably wouldn't have noticed it.  
  
He moved closer, and propped the torch in a crack above the crevice.  
  
One hand on the hilt of his sword, he peeked inside. It was just tall enough to accomodate a man, and a little bit wider than he was. If he squeezed, he could slip through.  
  
Just as he was getting ready to squeeze through, and horrid screech assailed his ears, and out of the crevice swarmed about a dozen orcs.  
  
He jumped back, the breeze from his sudden movement blew out the torch. Leaving him in complete darkness.  
  
He only had one thought in his head at that moment, 'oh crap.'  
  
~~~*~~~  
  
Soleair dragged himself down yet another winding passage, his aching legs screaming for him to stop and take a rest.  
  
Finally, when it seemed he could go no further, he came to what appeared some sort of living quarters. His legs gave out from under him, and he sank down into a mouldering armchair.  
  
Leaning his head back, he gloried in the feeling of comfort for the first time since his return from the dead.  
  
'I'll only sit for a moment' he thought absently, as his eyes slid closed, as though of their own accord.  
  
Before he knew it, he had dozed off.  
  
~~~*~~~  
  
Thranduil paced anxiously around the room. "Are you *certain* it was necessary to send Legolas, Aragorn and Soleair off like that, Peredhil? What if something happens to them?"  
  
Elrond sighed, "Stand still, Thranduil, you're making me dizzy, and yes, *we* need to stay here with Machiad."  
  
Thranduil shook his head, and stopped pacing beside Machiad's head. The sorcerer was staring at the ceiling, humming a merry tune under his breath.  
  
In a fit of temper, Thranduil drove the orc sword into the stone beside the lunatic's head.  
  
Machiad didn't so much as twitch.  
  
"Valar, Galadriel, what did you do to him, it's as though he's gone insane."  
  
Gandalf chuckled, "I'd say he was already there, mellon nin."  
  
Galadriel rose from her seat on the floor, and stared in the direction Legolas, Aragorn and Soleair had set out in.  
  
Elrond moved beside her, and fixed his eyes on the tunnel, Thranduil snapped his head around, his jaw dropped in shock.  
  
"What is it?" Gandalf placed a hand on Thranduil's shoulder.  
  
"Do you hear running water?"  
  
"What?" Gandalf strained to hear. It took a moment, but soon, he clearly heard water rushing at them. Lots of water.  
  
Sneak called for Elrond from her position on the floor, "I cannot move the twins, they are too heavy!"  
  
Elrond and Thranduil moved to grab them, as they each wrapped their arms around a twin, a wall of water came rushing at them from the tunnel mouth.  
  
"Ai Elbereth....."  
  
~~~*~~~  
  
Soleair awoke with a jerk, how long he'd dozed there, he had no idea, but surely Legolas and Aragorn were waiting for him.  
  
Turning around to get his bearings, he saw a large book on a pedestal in the corner.  
  
Upon closer examination, he saw it was inscripted with writing in the language of Mordor. This had to be the book Elrond had spoken of.  
  
Without thinking, he grabbed it up from the pedestal.  
  
As he staggered away with the heavy wieght of the ancient book tucked under one arm, he heard an audible clicking noise, as though some mechanism had been tripped.  
  
He turned around, and saw the pedestal sink slowly into the ground.  
  
'Oh Valar, what have I done now?' he thought vaguely as he beat a hasty retreat down the tunnel.  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
*Author puts on helmet, climbs into tank, backs tank into large cave set in a mountain side*  
  
ok, please don't kill me *grin* you'll never know what happens next!  
  
Quick poll time, should the twins live or die? If they do die, how shall I kill them?  
  
Let me know! Review review review!!! ~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
More A/N:  
  
Lord Angelus: YAY!! More teamwork, heh heh  
  
silverkonekotsukari: Glad you're enjoying! Keep reading!  
  
Naughtynat: I live in america, and I don't get cable, but my english friend very kindly filled me in as to who he is. lol. Galadriel sends her greetings :)  
  
Dragonsgirl22: No need to beg, my dear, I'll finish it! I'm glad you like it! Keep reading and reviewing! Reviews make me write faster!!!  
  
pennsuleien: Yep, another highlight coming soon. *evil grin*  
  
Goblz: thanks! I thought it was pretty cool too, and those daggers are gonna be real important!  
  
Thats it for today folks!  
  
XOXO  
  
Cor 


	15. Chapter 15

Taken  
  
Chapter 15  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of this, it all belongs to Tolkien. I'm not making any money from it.  
  
A/N: As always, special thanks to Cathy for the plot bunny. Also thanks to Becky for, well, it's her fault, that's all I'm gonna say. Go after her.  
  
eep! I also just want to say, it's ONLY fiction!!  
  
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The first thing Legolas became aware of was his aching head. It throbbed as badly as the time Aragorn had gotten him drunk on Dwarvish mead, awful stuff.  
  
It took him a moment to realize he was also all wet, and lying in some sort of puddle.  
  
It took a moment longer for him to realize that the puddle was growing rapidly deeper.  
  
He jumped to his feet, and took in his surroundings. He was in some sort of pit, it's circumference was wider than he was tall, and water was pouring rapidly in from some pipes about 3 feet above his head.  
  
He turned around slowly, the water was up to his waist now, and icy cold.  
  
The pit was dark, the only light was his natural elvish glow, and it wasn't very potent at the moment.  
  
Crouching down, he gathered himself for a leap.  
  
With all his might he jumped straight up, and managed to wrap his hands around one of the pipes. He pulled himself up, and balanced carefully on it. Looking up, he could see the edge of the pit was about 10 feet above his head, to high for even an elf to jump.  
  
He studied the walls, they were quite smooth, nothing for him to hold onto, he sighed, there was no way out.  
  
The water continued to rise, it was up to his knees now, and getting higher by the second.  
  
'Well, I'm a good swimmer,' he thought 'perhaps I can just stay afloat until the water reaches the top.'  
  
It seemed like a good plan, and it was the only one he had. So he waited while the water rose up to his waist, wincing as the icy coldness hit some rather sensitive areas.  
  
It gradually reached his chest, and up to his chin. He kicked his legs slowly, trying not to get caught in the nasty undertow that was threatening to drag him back down.  
  
A couple times his head slipped beneath the surface, but he managed to kick back up again, until, at last, he could reach the edge of the pit.  
  
With numb, cold fingers, he pulled himself out of the water, and crawled along the floor until he was a little ways away from the pit.  
  
It only took him a moment to realize that the water wasn't going to stop when it reached the top.  
  
He took off running down the tunnel, yelling for Soleair and Aragorn, hoping desperately that they had already gotten out of the cavern.  
  
~~~*~~~  
  
Soleair reached the intersection fairly quickly, the living quarters hadn't been far down the tunnel. It had only seemed that way, because he had been so very tired.  
  
"300 centuries of rest, you'd think I'd be rested up enough for all of eternity," he grumbled softly to himself as he stood in the middle of the intersection, looking from left to right for any sign of Aragorn or Legolas.  
  
It didn't take long to find one. While he was looking to the right, Legolas came barreling down the left tunnel yelling his name. Before the elf could check himself and slow down, he collided with Soleair, sending them both into a soaking wet heap on the ground.  
  
"Ugh! You're all wet!" Soleair looked at the bedraggled elf sprawled across his chest.  
  
Legolas sat up, "Where's Aragorn?!"  
  
"uhm...." The soldier gave him a blank look, "I don't know, I only just got here myself. But look, I found the book!" He held it up for the elf to see. Legolas didn't look as pleased as Soleair had hoped he would.  
  
He sighed, "well maybe he got back already, and got tired of waiting for us?"  
  
Legolas shook his head, "If he got tired of waiting, he would have come looking for us, not wander back."  
  
"Alright, well, let's go find him then."  
  
Legolas rose gracefully, and pointed down the tunnel he had come from, the ground sloped downward away from them. "Soon this tunnel will fill up with water, and then it will wash down toward the main cavern, where others are waiting. We will have to find him fast."  
  
Soleair nodded, and hauled himself to his feet. Setting the book on a shelf in the rock wall, he grabbed a torch and said "Lets go!"  
  
~~~*~~~  
  
Aragorn backed up slowly, spotting his foes by their glowing yellow eyes. The orcs would have an advantage in this fight, their night vision was far better than his. He needed to find a way to guard his back.  
  
Finally, he bumped into a support pillar, and pressed his back up against it. He drew his sword slowly, watching the eyes.  
  
They didn't make a move at him, but shifted around slowly, back and forth, until it was impossible to tell which orc was which anymore.  
  
Not that Aragorn really cared all that much. He sighed, this didn't look good, his arms ached, and his back was on fire. He wasn't sure how long he could fend off these damnable creatures.  
  
Finally, one lunged at him, and Aragorn ducked sideways automatically. When he heard it's sword clang against the rock support, he jabbed sideways, and was rewarded with an agonized howl.  
  
The orc staggered sideways, and one pair of yellow eyes went dark.  
  
Well, one down, 11 to go. Aragorn stepped back, and leaned against the support again, knowing full well they could see him pretty clearly.  
  
They didn't have a chance to attack a second time. The tunnel was filled with light as Legolas and Soleair came tearing around the corner.  
  
Legolas took in the situation quickly, and had his bow strung before the orcs could even react to their presence.  
  
Soleair stuck the torch in a crack, and pulled out the twins daggers, marveling at how light they were.  
  
Dancing forward he killed 3 orcs in quick succession, surprised at how he still remembered everything he'd learned about fighting orcs.  
  
Legolas was firing arrows as quickly as he could draw them, and before Aragorn could raise his sword again, the remaining 11 orcs were dispatched.  
  
Legolas reached an arm out to his dear friend, "Come we have to get out of here before..."  
  
He trailed off as he heard the water come rushing down the tunnel at them.  
  
"Legolas? Mellon nin, what...." He gasped as Legolas hauled him backwards, and grabbed onto the rocky support pillar Aragorn had been backed against.  
  
"Hold on Estel, we're about to get very wet." Legolas pulled off his belt, and wrapped it around Aragorn and the pillar, fearing the ranger didn't have the strength to hold on to the pillar on his own.  
  
Soleair tucked the daggers into his belt for safekeeping, and ran forward, wrapping his arms firmly around the pillar.  
  
The water was already rushing around their feet, and as it reached their knees, Aragorn was horrified to see a wall of water come rushing at them.  
  
He took a deep breath, and the wall pummelled them, like a thousand battering fists.  
  
Soleair was forced forward against the pillar, cracking his nose painfully on the stone, while Legolas turned his head to the side, desperatly trying to keep both humans from being washed away.  
  
The three clung together, under massive amounts of water for what seemed like ages.  
  
Just when it seemed that they would spend eternity underwater, clinging to that pillar, the last of the water washed down the tunnel, leaving 2 bedraggled humans, and an even more bedraggled elf.  
  
Legolas spat out a mouthful of water, and sank to the ground, where Soleair was hacking and coughing and gasping for air. Aragorn was doing the same, leaning weakly against the pillar. He fumbled with the belt buckle, until he could at last sink to his knees, and catch his breath.  
  
The three sat there in the darkness for a moment, for the flood had put out the torch.  
  
For the second time, Legolas found himself in the dark, with nothing but his natural glow for light.  
  
It was enough to make him want to scream.  
  
He sighed, and stood up. "Come, we have to see if that book is still there."  
  
Aragorn looked over at the elf, and burst out laughing. He couldn't help it. Legolas' hair was plastered to his head, his clothes dripping wet. Legolas gave him a dirty look. "What." he asked grumpily.  
  
"You.... you look.. like....like a ....drowned...rat!!!" Aragorn was fairly howling with laughter now, clutching his aching sides in helpless mirth.  
  
Soleair took a good look at Legolas, and started snickering himself, "You really do, my friend."  
  
The look Legolas shot him could have melted mithril, but lost most of it's effect since the rest of him really did resemble a drowned rat.  
  
He turned around and ignored the helplessly laughing mortals at his feet.  
  
"It's not as though there's anything funny about this situation."  
  
This sobered them up pretty quickly, although, as they made their way slowly toward the intersection, Soleair and Aragorn still snickered softly from time to time.  
  
~~~*~~~  
  
"Ai Elbereth......."  
  
Thranduil clutched the twin in his arms and pressed himself against the wall in an effort to keep them both from floating away, only, no water ever touched them.  
  
Galadriel raised her hand, and a bright light burst forth from it, encompassing the wall of water rushing at them, and guiding it effortlessly around the room, where it exited via the other tunnel.  
  
Thanduil sighed, and lowered whichever twin he had back down to the ground. Honestly, the two had been hard enough to tell apart when they looked normal. Now that they were twisted and mutilated in this fashion, it was impossible to tell which was which.  
  
Elrond did the same beside him, murmuring something to the ruined figure in his arms.  
  
They moved to stand beside Galadriel, who was still regarding the tunnel with a bemused expression.  
  
Thranduil's sensitive ears suddenly picked up the sounds of 3 pairs of feet pounding into the puddles, and... was that laughter?  
  
In a moment, he saw that what was so funny.  
  
Legolas came tearing into the chamber, soaking wet, and looking less like an Elf Prince, and more like a cat Thranduil had once tossed into the River Running.  
  
The Elven King had to bite back a snicker himself, as the sight of his normally immaculatly groomed son.  
  
Legolas favored his father with a look that could have started a forest fire, and turned to his companions, who were lagging behind him.  
  
"We *snicker* found the book, Lord Elrond." Soleair was desperately trying to be serious, but he simply couldn't help it.  
  
He'd forgotten how good it felt to laugh.  
  
Aragorn, on the other hand, had lost his good humor at the sight of his brothers. "Gandalf, can you translate?"  
  
Gandalf acquiesced, and laid the book out on the floor. Bending over it on one side of him was Elrond, on the other, Galadriel.  
  
Thranduil and Soleair kept stealing glances at Legolas and snickering softly. The Elven King found himself liking this soldier more and more, perhaps he could be offered a place in Eryn Lasgalen when all this was said and done.  
  
Aragorn made his way over to his brothers, and cradled one in his arms, he wasn't sure, but he was pretty sure he had Elladan. If you had asked him, he'd tell you this twin had a certain Elladanishness about him.  
  
Sneak cradled the other in her arms, still softly singing her lullaby.  
  
It took a few minutes, but Gandalf found what he was looking for in the ancient, and slightly soggy spell book.  
  
"Ah, here we go. The only way to reverse the spell is to kill whoever the immortality was stolen for."  
  
Soleair nodded, "Very well, kill me then, I'll be happy to return to Mandos."  
  
Gandalf shook his head, "There's more here, Master Human. The beings will be granted their immortality, and sanity again, but they will be forever twisted by the spell."  
  
Machiad let out a twisted cackle from his dais.  
  
Elrond turned toward his sons, taking in their ruined forms. "There's no way to return them to their original state then?"  
  
Gandalf shook his head, "Not as far as I can tell, mellon nin." He place a hand gently on the ancient elf's shoulder, "I am sorry. There may be more here, but I cannot make it out."  
  
Elrond shook his head, and pulled away from his dear old friends touch. He gathered up his other son from Sneak's arms. Turning toward Aragorn, he asked "what was it Elladan whispered to you, before he agreed to do this?"  
  
Tears ran down the young Rangers face. "He asked me to kill them, after the spell was cast. He didn't want to be this way, Ada. I'm so sorry, it's all my fault!"  
  
Elrond shook his head, unable to comfort his youngest just now. "Then, let us grant their last wish."  
  
He held out a hand to Soleair, "Can I have my son's daggers back, please?"  
  
Soleair stared at the elf lord, stunned, then placed Elrohir's dagger in Elrond's outstretched hand, giving Elladan's to Aragorn.  
  
He turned to Thranduil. "My Lord, I have no desire to remain in this world, please, help me go back to Mandos."  
  
Thranduil nodded, and took up Aragorns sword from where the human had tossed it aside.  
  
Raising his arm, he spoke softly, "It was an honor to know you, Soleair. If you should happen to see my father in Mandos, give him my love."  
  
Soleair nodded, and Thranduil's sword swept through the air, in a strong decisive strike, separating the human's head from his shoulders, at the same instant two daggers struck home in the ruined bodies of the Twins.  
  
There was silence in the room a moment, as Elrond and Aragorn gently lowered their burdens to the floor, when, suddenly, a brilliant light filled the room.  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
*points at Becky* It was ALL her idea!!!!!! Please don't kill me!!!!!!!!!! *author runs and goes into hiding* It'll have a happy ending, I promise!!!!!!!!!! Trust the author!!!!!!!  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
More A/N:  
  
Pennsuleien: just out of curiosity, how is one twin cuter than the other, when they're identical?  
  
Naughtynat: Keep reading!  
  
star*smiles: Welcome aboard! Thanks for the compliments, let me know what you think of this chappie, just, uhm, don't hurt me, ok?  
  
Kaht: In case you haven't figured it out, Soleair caused it by picking up the book, it triggered a boobytrap. I DO promise a happy ending! I really really do!  
  
OK, that's it for tonight folks, please don't come after me with sharp objects!!!!  
  
XOXO  
  
Cor 


	16. Chapter 16

Taken  
  
Chapter 16  
  
disclaimer: I don't own any of this, it all belongs to Tolkien, I'm not making any money from it.  
  
A/N: Thanks to Cathy for this little bunny, see what you started *grin* And big huggles to Becky for Beta'ing this chappie :)  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
Elladan found himself lying on something soft. He was all curled up, and felt warm and safe.  
  
"Hello Elflings."  
  
Elladan opened his eyes reluctantly, and was startled to realize they'd been closed. Crouching before him was a tall, powerfully built man, with merry brown eyes.  
  
"M-Mandos?"  
  
"Yes, little one. Come now, wake your brother. You two have work to do yet."  
  
Elladan rolled over obediently, and found himself nose to nose with his twin. He nudged Elrohir with his elbow. "Wake up, 'Ro."  
  
Elrohir rolled over, turning his back to Elladan. "Go 'way"  
  
Elladan gripped his shoulder, "Wake up brother." He shook the shoulder a little, "Mandos says we have work to do."  
  
Elrohir grunted, and rolled back over. "What?" His silvery eyes widened as they took in the sight of the Valar in front of him. "Mandos.... oh Illuvatar, we're dead!"  
  
Mandos smiled, "For the moment, elfling. You two have much to do yet. You were appointed the Guardians of Hope by the Valar, you can't just die in the middle of your duties."  
  
"So, we're not going to stay here, my Lord?" Elladan looked vaguely confused.  
  
Mandos smiled, his kind eyes crinkling cheerfully at the corners. "No, you're not. I have discussed this with the other Valar, and we have agreed. You will be returned to your physical bodies."  
  
"But, our bodies are ruined!" Elrohir looked horrified at the prospect of living in the twisted form he had so recently escaped.  
  
"Elbereth is going to act through the elvish rings of power, and restore your bodies to their natural state. You cannot protect the Future King in a body that won't even be able to walk around properly."  
  
"Future King? You mean Aragorn? He hardly needs our protection any longer!"  
  
Mandos chuckled, "He will. Oh, he will." The twins looked concerned at that comment. "You two, and the son of Thranduil, have been chosen to guard him until he can take the throne. Only then may any of you return to Valinor."  
  
"Oh." Elladan's heart soared at this news. "So, we will be returned to our bodies if we die again?"  
  
Mandos shook his head, amused. "I'm not sure." He raised an eyebrow "Please *try* not to get yourself killed again, elfling. *This* time, you simply *had* to be killed, and you're not really in my Halls. Rather, somewhere in between, and I will simply be pushing you back to your bodies." He smiled, "Now, brace yourselves, I'm sending you back."  
  
With those last words, Mandos raised his hands, and a brilliant light surrounded them. They were filled with comfort, and security, curled together in that warm light. Until it faded, and they found themselves lying on a cold, hard stone floor.  
  
~~~*~~~  
  
Legolas knelt beside his dear friend, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Are you all right mellon nin?"  
  
Aragorn nodded silently, staring at the limp form in front him, clutching Elladan's bloody dagger in his hand. Legolas reached over, and gently pried it from Aragorns grasp. "Why don't I just take this?"  
  
Aragorn let him take the dagger, not really caring to see it anymore, anyways. He reached out a hand, and laid it on Elladan's chest.  
  
Legolas turned to his father who was staring in shock at Soleairs headless body. It had crumbled away, leaving a small pile of ash behind.  
  
Legolas and Thranduil turned toward Gandalf for an explanation, when a brilliant light emanated from the Istar's chest.  
  
Legolas turned his eyes away, only to see a similar light coming from Galadriels hand, and Elrond's hand as well.  
  
Gandalf reached inside his collar, and pulled out a brightly glowing Narya* from under his robes.  
  
He had worn the ring on a chain around his neck for centuries, and it had never acted like this before.  
  
The light filled the room, then coalesced around the struggling sorcerer still bound to the dais. For a moment, his body burned with the light of the sun, then with an agonized howl, his body exploded in a hail of ash.  
  
Thranduil staggered back from the dais, losing his balance, and landed on top of his son and Aragorn.  
  
The light then expanded out again, filling every crack and crevice in the cavern.  
  
Aragorn, Thranduil and Legolas shielded their eyes from it. It wrapped itself around the limp, lifeless forms of the twins, and shone brilliantly, like a thousand shining stars all at once.  
  
Then, all went dark.  
  
~*~  
  
Moment's later:  
  
"Geddoff me." Aragorn shoved at Thranduil, who was sprawled across his legs.  
  
Thranduil rolled over, only to find himself on top of someone else.  
  
It took him a moment to realize it was one of the twins. He scrabbled off of him, and stared in utter shock, his jaw hanging open.  
  
Elladan awoke, startled, he sat up suddenly, and found himself about six inches from The Elven Kings face.  
  
Thranduil was stunned to see Elladan's face returned to it's normal state, not twisted and deformed as it had been only moments ago. Not to mention, the first born son of Elrond was breathing again, very odd.  
  
"Elladan?" Aragorns voice was barely more than a whisper.  
  
Elladan smiled, and opened his arms to his youngest brother. "I'm alright, really."  
  
Aragorn flung himself into Elladans arms, and buried his face in his older brother's shoulder. "Thank the Valar."  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
THEY LIVE!!!!!!!!!!! *dances for joy* does that make everyone happy now?  
  
One more chappie to go!!! I'm really excited! I've never written anything this long before! And no one's killed me yet, although, Cathy did drop a house on me *grin*  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
more A/N:  
  
Sake Girl Duelist: Thanks for the lovely comments, keep reading!  
  
Nikki: I like wet elves *grin* If you'd seen him, you'd have probably laughed too! In my head, he looked REALLY funny, *giggle*  
  
goblz: I'm just a mean mean author, and considering all the death threats I've recieved, I should have just left them dead. *grin* Does this make you feel better?  
  
pokethepenguin: I would love to see Legolas all wet too!! *giggle* *pictures him in a bubble bath under a tree* ahem, anyways, thanks for the review, keep reading!  
  
naughtynat: Happy? See how happy? *huggles Nat* Galadriel sent you some tissues!  
  
Mouse: eeep. Please don't come after me! It's going to be happy, see, they're all better now!!!!  
  
Lord Angelus: Thanks! Don't worry, I haven't forgotten your Haldir fic, it's just kind of on the back burner right now, I'll try to get it out as soon as I finish this fic!  
  
TIO: Keep the Squargs away, or I'll sic Fred and George (my giangantic superpowered Wargs) on them. They eat squargs for breakfast. Anyways, it's happy now, see? *grin*  
  
Pennsuleien: I think you deserve a prize. You're the only person, besides my faithful beta, Becky, who hasn't threatened my life in some way, shape or form. Of course, I don't think I can actually give you anything, unless you want to set a fic challenge for me *grin*  
  
Wepo: Uhmmmm, Blow up Middle Earth? I think my fans would chase me down with nuclear warheads if I did that. Here's the next chappie for ya!! Did it help at all?  
  
Laheara: Uhm, don't hunt us down! I've posted now!! What do you think of this chappie?  
  
star*smiles: I'm glad you liked it! As you can see, that wasn't the reason the room filled up with light, more on Soleair's fate in the next chappie! Keep reading!  
  
Dragonsgirl22: LOL! I'll write a one-shot about that sometime, if you like. I update almost everyday!!! I updated twice, yesterday, because people were chasing me! Thanks for the reviews!!  
  
WOW!!! That was the most reviews I've ever gotten for a chappie!! Keep them coming!!! *wallows shamelessly in her reviews* THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!! Your support keeps me writing! *grin*  
  
XOXO  
  
Cor 


	17. Chapter 17

Taken  
  
Chapter 17  
  
Disclaimer: I dont own any of this, it all belong to Tolkien, or his descendants or whatever. This is just for fun, I'm not making any money from it.  
  
A/N: This is the last chappie you guys!!! *sniff* I'm gonna miss writing this fic!! Look for sequels as soon as the spirit moves me to write again. So, for the last time, special thanks to Cathy, for getting this whole thing started! Thanks also to Becky, who's beta'd the last few chappies, this fic has gotten so much better since you started helping me out!!!!! Thanks to the entire MC list, and all my reviewers on FF.net (sheesh, I feel like I won an academy award, with all these thank yous!), your support kept me motivated to update quickly :)  
  
Okies, here we go! For the last time, on with the fic!!!  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
Aragorn buried his face in Elladans shoulder, clinging to his older brother like a lifeline. "I'm so sorry, Elladan, so sorry. It's all my fault!"  
  
His words were muffled, but Elladan got the gist of what he was saying. He pulled away, and caught the rangers chin in his hand, smiling fondly at his youngest brother. "What's your fault?"  
  
Aragorn sniffed, "Everything!! He cast that spell on you because of me, then I....I..*sniff* I killed you!" He hiccuped, and hugged Elladan fiercely again. "I'm so sorry!"  
  
Elladan returned the hug, "I don't blame you Aragorn, and look! I'm fine, see?"  
  
Aragorn sniffed, and grinned, "you certainly *look* fine!" He slugged his brother on the shoulder lightly.  
  
Legolas knelt down beside them, and gave Elladan a quick hug as well. "I'm glad you're alright, mellon nin, I wouldn't want to have to look after Strider all by myself!"  
  
Elladan laughed, "it's a full time job, let me tell you!"  
  
~*~  
  
A little ways away, Elrohir was awakening as well. He opened, and found his father kneeling over him, tears in his eyes.  
  
Ever the tender warrior, Elrohir reached up, and brushed them away. "Why are you crying, ada?"  
  
Elrond smiled, and gathered the younger twin up in arms. Elrohir laid his cheek on the ancient elf's shoulder, and hugged him hard, noting that his father was trembling slightly.  
  
"Ada, you're shaking!"  
  
Elrond squeezed him tighter for a moment, before releasing him. "I'm alright. I was just worried for you, my son." He reached out, and patted the younger twin on the cheek. "I'll be fine, now that you are."  
  
Elrohir grinned, and moved to hug his younger brother, who was currently tossing a little pebble from the ground at Legolas' head. "I don't protection! I spend *more* time rescuing you three, than you do me!"  
  
Elrohir burst out laughing, "sure you do, Estel! Like that time you got stuck in a tree?"  
  
"I was seven!"  
  
Elladan chortled helplessly, "And upside down. It was quite the sight."  
  
Aragorn rolled his eyes, and flung his arms around Elrohir affectionately, while Elrond pulled Elladan into his arms. "Don't make fun of Aragorns mishaps, my sons, you had your own. I seem to recall spending an hour and half pulling a caterpillar out of your ear*, Elrohir, when you were that age."  
  
Aragorn, Legolas and Thranduil roared with laughter. "A caterpillar?"  
  
Elrohir rolled his eyes, and shoved Aragorn. "I think I wish we stayed in Mandos, Elladan."  
  
Elladan grinned, "According to Mandos, we weren't even in his Halls. Besides, he said we *had* to come back."  
  
"What?" Elrond looked from one twin to the other in shock.  
  
~~~*~~~  
  
Across the room, Gandalf smiled at the little reunion, and turned toward Galadriel. "Why don't you join them, my dear?"  
  
Galadriel smiled back at the Istar, and rose gracefully. She held out her hand to Gandalf. "You may want to dispose of this, mellon nin." She dropped a vial of amber liquid into his hand.  
  
"Oh yes, I think I will." He pocketed the vial of Melicethrin, gave the Lady of Light a gentle push toward her family. "Go, give those twins a hug!"  
  
Galadriel moved gracefully across the room, and gathered her grandsons close.  
  
Elladan buried his face in her long silky hair, "Grandmother."  
  
Elrohir laid his head against her chest, and smiled in contentment. Galadriel had always reminded him of his mother, whom he missed dearly. She cuddled the twins for a moment, and found herself thinking of when they were small, and used to crawl into her lap, begging for stories.  
  
What had happened to those cute, cuddly little elflings? She sighed, and kissed them both, before pulling away. Galadriel cupped each of their faces in her hands, "Are you two all right?"  
  
They both nodded, "Yes, we're fine."  
  
She smiled, "good." She gently brushed their cheeks, and turned toward Elrond. "Are you alright, Elfling?"  
  
Elrond chuckled at the appellation, and nodded, "I'm fine, my Lady."  
  
She smiled softly, "good."  
  
~*~  
  
Thranduil smiled, everything was working out just fine. He tucked an affectionate arm around Legolas. "Are you alright, my son?"  
  
Legolas nodded, and leaned against his father a moment, before pulling away. "Elladan,what were you talking about earlier? You mention speaking to Mandos."  
  
Elladan grinned from ear to pointy ear. "Indeed we did, mellon nin. He told us that we had been appointed the Guardians of Hope by the Valar."  
  
"What?" Legolas' jaw dopped to the ground. "What do you mean, Guardians of Hope?"  
  
"We, as in Elrohir, myself, and you, have been appointed by the Valar to keep Estel alive until he can take the throne."  
  
Legolas stared at Elladan in silent shock for a moment, before rolling his eyes in exasperation. "They appointed me as well? Why am I not surprised?"  
  
Elladan chuckled, and patted Legolas on the shoulder. "I know how you feel."  
  
Thranduil took a little longer to absorb the information than his son had. "You mean my son, Legolas, Prince of Greenwood the Great, has been appointed by the Valar to make sure that human doesn't get himself killed before he will eventually die anyways?!"  
  
Elladan chuckled, and said "Basically, yes. He's not just the Hope of Men, Thranduil, but the Hope of us all! Aragorn is the last of his line, no one else can bear this burden, and Mandos implied that he will be needing our protection. Aragorn must take the throne, or all will be lost. You know this as well as any of us."  
  
The three turned their heads to where Aragorn and Elrohir were leaning shoulder to shoulder, speaking of one thing or another. Thranduil sighed in resignation, "then do your job well, my son. The Valar chose you for a reason, I am certain."  
  
~*~  
  
Elrond stood conversing quietly with Galadriel and Gandalf. As the bearers of the three elven rings, they were rather concerned with their recent behavior.  
  
"Valar, Gandalf, it felt as though my hand were on fire, what was that?" Elrond stared at the ring on his hand in shock. Galadriel glanced at Nenya on her own hand, before nodding in agreement with Elrond.  
  
"Why did they act that way? It should not have happened."  
  
Gandalf smiled, "It was Elbereth, mellyn nin. She acted through the rings to give Machiad his just rewards, and restore the bodies of Elladan and Elrohir."  
  
Galadriel smiled, "Yes, I thought I might have felt her presence."  
  
Elrond nodded, "but, what of Sneak, and her husband, I do not see her anywhere."  
  
"Sneak slew her husband, to keep him from helping Machiad further. Elbereth saw this, and has rewarded her, for trying to protect Aragorn, and your sons, Elrond. Calliawen, and her husband, Awarthanen, are in the Hall's of Mandos, along with Soleair." Gandalf smiled enigmatically, "They are at peace now."  
  
"Good, let's go home then." Elrond smiled, and turned toward his sons, holding out his arms to gather them in.  
  
"If we can find our way out." Thranduil grumbled from across the room. The Elven King slung his arm over Legolas' shoulder, "So tell me, what ever happened with those barrels blocking the river?"  
  
Legolas sighed, "I have no idea, Adar, I'm certain Torninean took care of it." The young prince got a sudden impish look in his eyes, "If not, we are wood-elves, our people are good swimmers."  
  
Thranduil gave him an exasperated look, "Very funny."  
  
"Yes, speaking of funny, Aragorn, Elrohir, would you care to explain the flour all over the Halls of Fire?" Elrond regard his two youngest sons rather sternly.  
  
Elrohir looked at his partner in crime helplessly. "uhm, uh..." Aragorn was speechless.  
  
Elladan snickered helplessly.  
  
"Oh, don't worry, Elladan. We are going to discuss Amariel later my son."  
  
~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~^~~~  
  
And so, Elrond and his three sons returned to Rivendell, where they were greeted with joy by Glorfindel and the people of Imladris.  
  
Gandalf, Thranduil, and Legolas escorted the Lady Galadriel back to her Golden Wood before Gandalf took off for parts unknown.  
  
The Elven King and his son returned to Eryn Lasgalen, where they were welcomed home by their people with much rejoicing.  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
*This is a reference to Dragon's fic 'Elrohir and the very Stupid Caterpiller' go read it and all her other fics here! I would post a link but FF.net won't let me. If you go to author search, and look for Dragon, you access her site there. Go read her stuff, it's wonderful!!!!  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
WOW! I finished!! WOOHOO!!  
  
Well, I think this will be the start of a series, I'll think I'll call it 'Guardians of Hope'. Look for sequels coming soon!!!  
  
Thank you so much all for reading!!!!  
  
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~  
  
more A/N:  
  
Lady of Legolas: Thanks for letting me live, I do appreciate it!! Thank you for reading, check back soon for a sequel!!  
  
Kasandra: *ulp* please don't kill me!!! I would really like to live. See, they lived! They're ok!!!  
  
Nikki: They're all better now!!!! Yippeee!!!! Thanks for the reviews!!  
  
Lord Angelus: *huggles her* thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews!! I knew that if no one else reviewed, you would!!! Look for the sequel soon!  
  
Mouse: Thanks sweetie, I really do try to be original, it's not always easy though, lol!! I worked really hard on this, I'm glad you liked it!  
  
TIO: The dwarves made my wargs stomachs of iron, so even exploding squargs aren't real likely to give them more than an upset stomach. But we don't have to worry about that, because you decided to let me live! WOOHOO!!! *huggles her*  
  
Wilwarin: I'm glad I amused you, look for a sequel soon!  
  
Naughtynat: Yep, there sure will be! Look for it soon!  
  
Pennsuleien: *hugs back* Thanks so much for your reviews, I'm really glad you enjoyed it! Let me know if you want to give me a fic challenge.  
  
WePo: Thanks for the reviews!!!! Look for the sequel soon!  
  
pokethepenguin: thanks for reading, I'm glad you enjoyed it!  
  
star*smiles: *blushes* Thanks for the complimentss!! Look for the sequel!!  
  
Last choice: Thanks for the thoughts, Elrohir is my favorite too. But he seems to be kinda quiet in this fic. Maybe in the sequel, he'll be a little more vocal.  
  
Sake Girl Duelist: I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for all the reviews!!!!!!  
  
*huggles everyone* You guys are great!!! Thanks for my many many reviews! Look for the sequel soon! Unfortunately, I have no idea what the title is, or what it's about. But there will be one sooner or later!  
  
XOXO  
  
Cor 


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